BCB appoints Fountain as fielding coach

JULIAN FOUNTAIN

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday officially announced Julian Fountain as the national team's fielding coach.
The game's governing body has however yet to confirm the appointment of former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener as the specialist bowling coach for the national team.
"The formalities with Klusener will be done very soon. And he is likely to join the team by mid September. There are certain terms and conditions we are sorting out with him," said Jalal Yunus, BCB's media committee chairman.
It was learnt that Klusener had been demanding more vacations during his tenure to fulfill some of his family commitments and the board was likely to accept his demand.
40-year-old Fountain, who has been in cricket coaching for nearly two decades, will be arriving in Dhaka on Thursday morning to start his stint with the Tigers.
The preparation camp is scheduled to start from August 22 with a preliminary squad that was yet to be named by the Rafiqul Islam-led selection committee. Head coach Jamie Siddons returned to business yesterday after long holidays.
Fountain, who has previously worked as a fielding coach for the West Indies, Pakistan and England, was excited at the prospect of coaching a talented and youthful side like Bangladesh.
“I am really looking forward to joining Bangladesh in their search for World Cup 2011 success. Bangladesh are a young side who have proved that they are capable of beating the best sides in the world on their day. I honestly believe that as one of the host nations, Bangladesh are a really strong contender, and with the right preparation, who knows what they are capable of achieving,” said Fountain, who is the first baseball player to coach a senior international cricket team, when he was appointed as specialist fielding coach to the West Indies team in South Africa in 1998 again against Australia in 1999.
His contract with the BCB runs through the 2011 ICC World Cup.