DHAKA, Oct 31: Bangladesh’s new coach Jamie Siddons said on Wednesday his goal was to transform the team into a highly competitive unit in both Test and one-day cricket.

“I’ve got some visions for the team. Everything we do will be towards improving the team and see it gets better day by day,” said the Australian, who signed a two-year contract late Tuesday.

Siddons, 43, will formally take over the side on Nov 25, just a month before Bangladesh’s tour of New Zealand for two Tests and three One-day Internationals.

He replaces compatriot Dav Whatmore, who stepped down in May after India’s tour of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh may have beaten big teams like world champions Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan in one-day cricket, but their Test record remains unimpressive. They have won just one of their 49 matches since gaining Test status in 2000, their lone victory coming against Zimbabwe at home in 2005.

Siddons, who was an assistant coach with the Australian team, said it would be a great challenge to coach Bangladesh and was hopeful they would put in better performances during his tenure.

“I’ve got a lot of ideas and it’s an opportunity to start my philosophy and coaching techniques with the side,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll be a better outfit, play some good cricket and win some matches.”

Bangladesh caught the eye when they advanced to the second round of the World Cup for the first time in the Caribbean early this year.

But Siddons said he would also try to make Bangladesh a better Test side and his stress would be on consistency, especially in batting.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said they were delighted to find a coach who was a very good batsman.

“Batting is our weak area. Siddons was a very good batsman. We hope our batting improves significantly under him,” the BCB’s operations chief Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu said. “Our cricket has been suffering from inconsistencies for long. We hope he can fix it up.”

Siddons scored 11,587 first-class runs at 44.91 for Victoria and South Australia between 1984 and 2000, but never made it to the Australian Test squad although he played a solitary One-day International in 1988.

He joins fellow Australians John Dyson (West Indies), Geoff Lawson (Pakistan), Trevor Bayliss (Sri Lanka) and Tim Nielsen (Australia) who are coaching Test teams.

India is the only Test side still to appoint a permanent coach following the resignation of another Australian, Greg Chappell, after the World Cup in March-April.

Bangladesh are due to host South Africa in February. —AFP