Bowling coach nearly decided

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon said yesterday that they have completed all the background work about the new bowling coach for the national team.

“We have shortlisted two candidates, now we just have to decide who to take. We will decide that tomorrow or the day after,” said the BCB boss while talking to reporters upon his return yesterday after attending the ICC meeting in Edinburgh.

Few names have already been in the air, ranging from Curtly Ambrose to Chaminda Vaas. But who will actually replace Heath Streak? The name of Sri Lankan pace bowler Chaminda Vaas already came in the media and it was earlier reported that the board has been negotiating with some candidates from India, Sri Lanka and West Indies. Finally the board may pull off a surprise for everybody. Whispers have also been doing the rounds about the strong possibility of an appointment of another West Indian bowling great.

Regarding the controversial proposed two-tier Test table, Papon said: “When the board meeting takes place, we will discuss it and I don't think it will be easy to pass this kind of thing. Even if Bangladesh stands alone, it is still not an easy thing to pass. It's a very complicated procedure. It's not so simple that you can just decide to do it.”

Papon also added that Bangladesh was the only country that objected to the proposal at the CEC meeting.

The BCB boss also responded to the question of the ECB's concern over their forthcoming tour of Bangladesh following terror attacks in Dhaka.

“The incident was a very unfortunate one for all of Bangladesh and it will also have an impact on cricket. From the part of the cricket board, we don't even have the words to offer condolences. That this kind of thing could happen in Bangladesh is unthinkable. I still can't accept it.

“Under the current circumstances I have seen the reaction from England. It's a very natural reaction. If the roles were reversed, we would have done the same thing. Still there are some very important issues here. Even after the terrorist attacks in Paris, sport did not stop there. I believe sport will continue in its own course. Another convenient thing is that the England series is still three months away. In this time, I'm sure that we will not have the same kind of situation that we have now. And it's very hard to say which place is safe and which isn't. You can't even say that England will be safe three months from now. We don't know. Whatever the situation is, I have always said that our security has to be strengthened. We have to provide maximum security. However, I don't see any reason why sport should be stopped.”