ST JOHN'S, Antigua (AP):

HABIBUL BASHAR wants his Bangladesh team to prove that qualification for the Cricket World Cup's Super Eights was no fluke.

"Making the Super Eights is a momentous step for Bangladesh cricket, we've played well to be here," Bashar said as Bangladesh trained ahead of their first Super Eights game against defending champions Australia, tomorrow.

"It's an exciting time for Bangladesh, we want to continue our good performance and are seeking to post some victories," said Bashar. "We're not here to make up the numbers."

Bangladesh clinched No. 2 place in Group B preliminary round that featured two former world champions - India and Sri Lanka. Bashar's team set up Bangladesh's biggest World Cup moment with a stunning five-wicket victory over India in their first match.

India failed to recover from that jolt and suffered a humiliating first-round knock out after losing by 69 runs to Sri Lanka, who topped the group with three successive wins.

Huge boost

Bashar said Bangladesh's historic entry into the Super Eights round would be a huge boost for cricket in the sub-continental nation.

Cricket and soccer are the two major sports in Bangladesh.

When they made their first appearance in the World Cup in 1999, Bangladesh beat Pakistan and Scotland - results that prompted their quick elevation to Test match status. In 2003, they failed to make a mark and even lost to outsiders Canada.

Since then, they have pulled off some big wins in the limited-overs arena, beating World Cup champions Australia during a 2005 limited-overs tri-series.

During their last limited-overs series against India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh managed to score their first one-day wins against these sub-continental rivals.

Doubted our ability

"There were people who doubted our ability and this is our chance to prove things," Bashar said.

"The preliminary round was more of a knock-out competition, we'd been out of the tournament had we lost both to India and Sri Lanka, but now we'll have six matches."