‘Main focus is on preparing players for Tests’

Newly appointed BCB High Performance head coach Toby Radford stated that his main goal is to prepare the young players for the longer version during a virtual press conference today.

"What I want to create here is a group of players that can really stand up in Test cricket, so that they're technically right and can face 90-mile-an-hour bowling, can bat for five hours and can bowl long spells. So the whole of this 14-day camp is focused on preparing them for red-ball cricket," Radford said.

The HP unit's training camp, involving 26 players, started on Tuesday at the BCB Academy Ground and is scheduled to end on November 12. 

"I talked with a number of local coaches and they're saying that a lot of young players here don't play red-ball cricket. So during this whole period, I am focusing on preparing players for Tests so that they can go and deliver in the Test team," Radford added.

Radford mentioned that during a presentation yesterday, he told the HP Unit players that, " If you look at the best players in the world like Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes, Steve Smiths -- they're all good Test players. They have a basic technique and once you have that you can then develop the funky T20 or 50-over stuff."

"I'm an old fashioned coach. I like to see the high-end play at first; that is my philosophy," said Radford.

He also talked about the importance of international tours for the HP Unit.  

"I see the role of producing players who can deliver abroad and the only way to do that is to give them experience and tours of playing into other conditions abroad, not just doing well domestically." 

Radford said that he had already expressed his eagerness to the board about touring foreign countries like England where there are green wickets so that the players can learn how to bat and bowl in such conditions.