Stuart Law – “When I come to Dhaka and in Bangladesh in general, it has been a warm welcome” © AFP
Stuart Law, the Bangladesh Under-19s’ technical advisor, believes the Australia Under-19 players will be disappointed to miss out on playing in the world stage, after Cricket Australia pulled the team out of the Under-19 World Cup. Law himself was due to arrive in Bangladesh last October, but he came to the country only on Sunday, partly due to security concerns.
Not long before he reacted to Australia’s pullout, Law had been confident that the team would go to Bangladesh, where the tournament begins on January 27. When asked what he thought of Australia threatening to pull out, Law had said, “I don’t think so, I think they are coming.”
However, once news broke that Australia would not be playing in the tournament, Law remained tight-lipped. “I don’t want to comment on it. I don’t know the ins and outs,” he said. “I don’t know the reasons. It is just unfortunate for the young Australian players. They are not getting an opportunity to play in the world stage.”
Law, however, confirmed that he would stay in Bangladesh throughout the team’s World Cup campaign.
“I will stay until the end of the World Cup. I had a few personal issues that I had to see through. There was the threat of security. I had an illness so I had to make sure I was 100% fit before I got back into work.
“The threat could pop up in any country but when you get information from an intelligence organisaiton, you probably better sit down and go through it. The threat [in Bangladesh] seems to have died down somewhat. It is still there and it will be there throughout the world. No matter whether you are in New York or London, Dhaka is not so different. Anything can happen, any time. You just got to get on with life,”
Law also said that he felt comfortable in the country where he spent around nine months as Bangladesh’s senior head coach, between 2011 and 2012.
“I feel comfortable coming to Bangladesh. When I come to Dhaka and in Bangladesh in general, it has been a warm welcome. There is always that [security] in the back of your mind but in the forefront, no. I am here to enjoy our boys play cricket and hopefully have some success along the way.”
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo’s Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo