Tigers prepare for chin music
In his first practice session in charge of the Bangladesh cricket team, new head coach Steve Rhodes was right on the money. He was busy conducting batting drills with granite slabs placed roughly halfway down the pitch of the outer nets of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday, as part of special preparations for the upcoming tour of West Indies where seaming and bouncy tracks are waiting to test the Bangladeshi batsmen.
West Indies pacer Shannon Gabriel, whose fiery bowling netted him 13 wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka at St Lucia which ended on Monday, was a bowler on Rhodes's mind while designing the drill.
"You cannot take anything away from what Gabriel is doing. He has got an amazing haul of wickets in the last Test match. I know him quite well. He was signed when I was with Worcestershire. And he is bowling very well. We have got to prepare for him, hence the reason we will be practising the way we will over the next three days. They have some good bowlers but we have got some good batters as well," said Rhodes.
A majority of the Bangladeshi batsmen are known to struggle against quality fast bowling in testing conditions and that will be one of the biggest challenges for the new coach on the upcoming tour of West Indies.
"I think there is some reality in how you go about your preparation. To prepare for a game you need to know what's coming ahead of you. But you also need to know the individuals in the team. You need to know the players very quickly and get to know how they prepare best for a successful Test match," he said when asked whether he is comfortable in hearing how good the opposition is.
Unlike former head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who tended to take decisions on his own instead of making it a point to consult with senior members, Rhodes already made things clear about involving the players while devising strategy.
"I am also picking the brains of some of the guys. These are top cricketers. It is not about just coaches' talent. We have got some very experience cricketers and formulate some very good plans," Rhodes said.