Nigar Sultana Joty: Bangladesh skipper looking forward to England World Cup meeting

Heading into their debut World Cup, Bangladesh had climbed to sixth in the world rankings - above West Indies and Pakistan

Bangladesh might be at their first Women's World Cup, but they are proving good to their captain's word that they are there to "compete and not just participate".

A win over Pakistan and close contests against Australia, South Africa and West Indies have shown Bangladesh to be the surprise package of the tournament.

And now Nigar Sultana Joty's side stand in the way of England, who must win their final group game in Wellington to ensure qualification for the final four.

Bangladesh led by 'calm, but sometimes crazy' Joty

Joty, aged just 24, has been at the heart of Bangladesh's surprise World Cup journey.

She describes her captaincy style as "calmness, sometimes craziness and sometimes very aggressive".

England will be wary of this approach. It was evident in the nine-run victory over Pakistan, in only Bangladesh's second-ever World Cup match.

"Every time I've played against Pakistan it feels different," said Joty, alluding to the historical enmity between the countries. "We were confident against Pakistan, we've played against them many times."

The team felt "shocked and excited" after the win, Joty added.

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In the field, Bangladesh have stuck to a blueprint of tight lines with the new ball before applying a mid-innings squeeze with an array of spin options.

England will have analysed the awkward new-ball threat posed by Jahanara Alam, complete with distinctive green headband and blonde streaks.

But it is in the spin department that Bangladesh have really excelled.

"Salma (Khatun), Rumana (Ahmed), Fahima (Khatun) and Nahida (Akter) were brilliant against Pakistan," said Joty.

The four spinners instigated a spectacular Pakistan batting collapse, which saw six wickets fall for 32 runs.

As the wickets fell against Pakistan, and when the result was confirmed, Bangladesh captured the attention of the cricketing world with their unscripted and spontaneous celebrations.

"We've played together for many years, and we want to live every moment as this is our very first World Cup - we are excited," said Joty.

"Nahida and Fahima wanted to celebrate in a different way, their style, and I imitated that style."

As well as the celebratory dancing, a social media clip of jubilant singing on the team bus has been widely shared.

Joty describes all-rounder Ritu Moni as the team joker - "she's a smiley person and she's trying to be funny all the time".

Joty's journey

Joty's journey into professional cricket has mirrored the many challenges Bangladeshi women face when making their way in the sport.

Negative perceptions about female cricketers are widely held. Joty's family were initially reluctant about her career choice before they appreciated just how talented she was.

"I lived in a very small town where it's very difficult for a girl to choose cricket," she said. "People were saying a lot of negative things, they said it's not the right profession for a girl."

It was the support of her "cricket-mad" family - her mother used to take Joty to practice - which enabled her career to flourish.

Interest in women's cricket is steadily growing in Bangladesh. An established structure is in place, incorporating representative teams at under-17 and under-19 level.

Joty believes believes the future is bright for Bangladesh and while they cannot reach the final four when they take to the field against England, she hopes such progression is only around the corner.

"In the next World Cup, I want to see my team in the semi-finals," she said, adding that she hopes Bangladesh's World Cup performances will encourage more top teams to play them.

The one regret Joty has is the failure of her team's batters to chase targets against South Africa and West Indies when well set.

"We've not played too many international matches, so we couldn't control the situations," Joty said.

Judging by their performances in this tournament, the experience will come - and few would bet against this cricket-mad country's women continuing on their upward curve.

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