Tamim looking better

All eyes were glued on Tamim Iqbal during practice at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley yesterday afternoon, which is the venue for the first ODI between Bangladesh and South Africa tomorrow. With a misfiring batting line-up, a lot will hinge on his fitness in time for the match.

He seemed untroubled, however, when batting on the centre wicket. With pacer Taskin Ahmed, off-spinner Mehedi Hasan bowling and part-time left-armer Mominul Haque bowling, Tamim seemed in the mood for ODI cricket as he was hitting them a fair distance. Many were deposited beyond the boundary hoardings behind the bowler and there was one special shot, an inside-out lofted cover drive that landed on the grass banks.

"He is looking good while batting," said team director Khaled Mahmud yesterday. "His main problem is he feels a bit of pain while running. It will be clearer tomorrow [Saturday] where he's at."

Nasir Hossain and Mominul followed Tamim, while the rest of the team played football and seemingly in good spirits -- it was a light practice session as they had only arrived in Kimberley barely an hour ago.

Tamim sustained a thigh muscle tear in the tour-opening practice game in Benoni on September 21. He played the first Test but had to sit out the second and is rushing to be fit for the ODI series.