David Hemp, Bangladesh women’s newly-appointed head coach, believes the upcoming tour of Australia will provide his side with a clear indication of where they stand in world cricket.
Hemp, 55, will begin his two-year stint with the Bangladesh women’s team when he joins the squad in Brisbane for the three-match ODI series against Australia. His contract runs until September 2028.
The appointment marks Hemp’s return to the Bangladesh women’s setup, having previously worked as batting coach during the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup Qualifier in Pakistan and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Nepal earlier this year.
“I mean it’s always nice. I enjoyed my time here and obviously looking forward to this next stint,” Hemp told Cricbuzz. “Having worked with the girls previously so I know what to expect and that’s one of the reasons why I’m coming back because I enjoyed the environment,” he said.
The Australia tour, however, will present Hemp with a significant challenge, with the hosts currently ranked No. 1 in both ODI and T20I cricket.
“Obviously, Australia tour is a huge challenge certainly because statistically where Australia ranks. They’re the number one side in the world in women’s cricket, both in ODI cricket and T20. And they have individual players that are ranked highly within that, within the ICC system,” he said.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity for us as well. You want to play against the best players because you want to be tested. It’ll give us a really good indication of where we stand and also what we can pick up and what we can learn and how we can try and evolve ourselves to be able to challenge these teams at the top of the tree,” he added.
Bangladesh women’s cricket has gone through a period of upheaval in recent months, with former head coach Sarowar Imran publicly raising concerns over the management of the team. His comments came amid developments that eventually saw Nigar Sultana step down as T20I captain.
Hemp, however, said he was unaware of the developments and urged the team to focus on matters within their control.
“I don’t know what’s been going on,” he said when his attention was drawn regarding the recent developments.
“Any team needs to just focus on what we can control and you know the most important thing for us as a group is to really connect and make sure that we’re all on the same page, all trying to move forward together,” he said.
Hemp’s experiences with the team have largely been positive, and he believes there is enough quality within the squad to improve their position in the rankings.
“As I say, my experience with the team has only been positive because the two tournaments that I went to (being part of the women’s cricket team) they played some really good cricket and seemed to have a good camaraderie and atmosphere together,” he said.
“My point to the players is simply trying to move forward and trying to improve the consistency of how we play because we want to move up the rankings and I feel that where we’re ranked at the moment, I don’t think is really a true reflection of the quality that we have within the squad because I’ve seen them play some really good cricket,” he said.
“So, that’s the challenge and the most important thing is everyone’s on the same page and everyone’s trying to move forward and improve day-by-day and week-by-week. That’s all you can ask of the playing group,” he concluded.
Bangladesh will leave for Australia on October 3, with the three-match ODI series scheduled to be played at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on October 9, 11 and 14.