As the victorious West Indian side sat in the bus shortly
after leaving the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium to return to the hotel after the
match, fans threw stones, two of which hit the window and broke the glass.
Nobody was hurt.
The attacks, although resulting in no injuries, are an
embarrassment both to the Bangladesh security forces and government which has
spent millions of dollars on player and fans' safety and the sport's governing
bodies.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it knew
about the incident but there had not yet been a complaint by the West Indies
board.
"Both buses left the stadium together for the hotel.
The police convoy was never halted and both buses reached the hotel safely with
no injuries being reported," the ICC spokesman said.
An ICC security adviser was on the bus with the team.
The West Indian team spokesman Philip Spooner said:
"A couple of fans threw stones, two hit the window and it just broke. No
one was hurt and we are safe.
"The glass didn't shatter. It just broke. They are
back in the hotel."
West Indies opener Chris Gayle tweeted from the bus: "Bangladesh
stoning our bus!!! Freaking glass Break!!! This is crap, can't believe ... what
next bullets!!!! "This
is ridiculous!!! Damn!!! W Cup with so many security an this happen!! Big Joke!!!
Trust me I'm not keen here!!! ...
players lay flat!!!" A Bangladesh police officer said that the fans had
thought the bus was carrying the home team.
Security at the tournament in the sometimes volatile
region is a particularly big issue in the sport after a gun attack on the Sri
Lanka team bus in Lahore in March 2009 leading to the deaths of eight people.
As a result, Bangladesh government diverted money from
other departments to safeguard players, officials and fans - with the bulk of
the $67 million World Cup budget spent on security. "I apologize for the incident and I promise that
such things will not be allowed to recur," Bangladesh Cricket Board
President Mostafa Kamal told reporters.
The mood of a crowd for the match - scene of the opening
match on Feb. 19 - had turned sour
earlier after their team's inept display.
In a symbolic gesture of their disgust, fans laid out
their shoes on the road as the Bangladesh team bus drove through the capital.
Mohammad Moudud, 30, a student of BRAC University, had
summed up prevailing feelings earlier: "They (Bangladesh players) still
need to learn many things. They have just marred our party and the
weekend." As Shakib's
hapless men trooped off with heads kept low, fans tossed almost everything they
could get their hands on - caps, placards, logos, even jerseys - to the
outfield as a demonstration of their disappointment.
By the time the West Indian openers Gayle and Darren
Bravo returned to open the innings before their side went on to complete the
formalities of the win, loud boos circulated the stadium, specially revamped
for this tournament.
Those jeers were still reverberating after the match as
West Indian fast bowler Kemar Roach collected a second Man-of-the-match prize
for his three wickets and Shakib tried to explain away his side's performance.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan said his team's
nine-wicket rout by the West Indies on Friday was the "worst day" of
his career, but insisted his side's campaign was not over.
"We did not play well at all," said Shakib
after Bangladesh were shot out for their lowest one-day total of 58 in just
18.5 overs, with the West Indies cantering home in the 13th over of their
innings.
"I did not expect that we would play so badly. This
has to be the worst day of my career." A sell-out crowd of 25,000 packed
into the Sher-e-Bangla stadium saw the day-night match come to an end even
before the lights came on, jeering the home team and throwing paper placards on
the field to show their disgust.
"I am not surprised they were angry, they have every
right to be," said Shakib.
"They expect a lot from us because we have done well
over the past few years. But I did not think we were capable of such a defeat.
"Our fans expect us to win games against good teams,
especially at home. We just did not play good cricket at all. Nothing went
right other than winning the toss." Bangladesh's score was well short of
their previous low of 74 against Australia in Darwin in 2008 and was also the
fourth lowest total in World Cup history.
They face England, South Africa and the Netherlands in
their remaining group matches. But Shakib said Bangladesh were not yet out of
the race.
"It is definitely possible to come back," he
said. "If you win two out of three matches, we may still qualify. I know
it will be hard to come back after losing this game.
"But the boys know they are capable of coming back
strongly. They have done it before, so why not this time?"
