CHITTAGONG: Bangladesh players will try to block out their passionate fans when they face England in the World Cup Friday after the crowd turned on them in their previous match. The Dhaka crowd's mood turned from festive to fury last week as the co-host crashed to a team record low 58 against the West Indies and lost its Group B encounter by nine wickets. Later the visitors' team bus was stoned after fans mistook it for the home side's vehicle and captain Shakib Al Hasan was targeted for particular abuse. Even the country's premier stepped in to appeal for the cricket-mad nation's supporters to calm down and armored personnel carriers were introduced to give added security for all teams. It was a far cry from an earlier match when a 27-run win over Ireland prompted nationwide celebrations. Asked how his team would handle the pressure of a make-or-break game against England in front of such a volatile crowd in Chittagong, Shakib said the only ploy would be to concentrate on the job in hand. “Some day if you play well, they will cheer for you and some day if you don't play well they will abuse you. So we are not thinking about our crowd,” he said. “We have to do our stuff. We know what we can do and we hope to do those things.” Anything but a win against England will severely dent Bangladesh's hopes of progressing to the quarterfinal and that added to the pressure too, said Shakib. England arrived in Chittagong in buoyant mood after beating group favorite South Africa by six runs Sunday but injuries to Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad forcing them out of the tournament have stalled their momentum. The duo have been replaced by fluent left-hand batsman Eoin Morgan and giant fast bowler Chris Tremlett, who are both available for Friday's game. England will qualify if it beats Bangladesh and the West Indies downs Ireland. The showdown Friday, however, could be disrupted by a huge tropical rain storm, forecasters say. “Storms accompanied by hail and rain could well hit any part of the country in the next 24 hours,” a weather bulletin issued by the Chittagong office of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said Thursday. Johnston doubtful for WI tie Ireland was sweating over the fitness of in-form seamer Trent Johnston ahead of its crunch World Cup clash against the West Indies Friday. Johnston, 36, took two early wickets during Sunday's five-wicket defeat to India in Bangalore before picking up a knee injury and taking no further part in the game. The paceman also grabbed two wickets in each of Ireland's first two games of the tournament. Irish skipper William Porterfield said the team will take a final decision on the veteran fast bowler only on the morning of the match. “He bowled a couple of overs in the nets today. He ran in hard, he is keen to play the game,” Porterfield said Thursday. “We will assess his fitness again and take a call on him on the morning of the match.” The Australian-born Johnston, one of the most experienced members of the Ireland squad, has taken 52 wickets from 50 ODIs. If Johnston is ruled unfit, it will be a big blow for Ireland who must beat West Indies if it is to stay in contention for a place in the quarterfinals. “We are treating it as a must-win game,” said Porterfield. “We know we have to win at least two of our remaining three games. “But we've played good cricket to this point and we've done our homework on the West Indies so we're looking good going into the game.” The West Indies, with two wins and a defeat under its belt, goes into the match on the back of a confidence-boosting nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Dhaka. Ireland has two points and faces fellow associates the Netherlands in their last group game. But with South Africa also to come, a victory over the West Indies is essential for Ireland to stay on course. Porterfield said his side had grown in confidence after beating England and making India sweat for a win.
