The former Bangladesh captain will leave Dhaka tomorrow along with middle-order batsman Tushar Imran, left-arm spinner Manzarul Islam and right-arm paceman Nazmul Hossain to join the Tigers in England for a triangular tournament also involving Australia.

The all-rounder was only looking forward to be welcomed by some good news when they arrive in London on the day of the beginning of the second Test against England at the Riverside, Chester-le-Street.

"It is very painful as a cricketer to read all those negative reports. So nothing will be better than getting the news of the team playing good cricket in the second Test," said Mahmud yesterday.

A born-fighter, Mahmud, however, hit back at the critics saying that they have forgotten the newest Test playing nation's impressive shows in Pakistan, Australia, West Indies and recently against Zimbabwe at home.

"We have some credits in our account as well to feel proud of, but they will never speak of those successes. But we can only silence them with our performance and I believe the players have the ability to do better than what they did at Lord's," he hoped.

The 33-year old, who had a tremendous match-winning performance in England against Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup, also warned that the Tigers would face more challenge at Durham.

"My experience tells me that at the Riverside the ball will move more what wasn't the case at Lord's. Batsmen have to be patient to survive. Actually, talent-wise we are a good team but our main problem lies in the mental approach towards the game," said Mahmud.

He said that it was difficult for him to explain the real reason behind the Lord's debacle as he was far away from the stage but he criticised the much publicised over reaction and an emotional approach to the Lord's debut.

"It seemed that playing at Lord's meant more for everyone rather than concentrating on the game. I don't understand why we were too much focussed on this issue. I think it was one of the reasons behind the poor show. Of course it is always great as a cricketer to play at Lord's, but the way we all responded was ridiculous," he said.