Hathurusingha hopes to whitewash Aussies
He says its real challenge to adapt with South Africa conditions
Sports Reporter
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha was hopeful that his side has the resources and ability to whitewash in Australia in the upcoming two-match Test series which is still under threat following the pay dispute between the Cricket Australia and its players.
Bangladesh has recently drawn the Test series against England at home condition on the back of some superb spin bowling. At home they at least now know how to beat a top opposition even though their rankings in Test format as of now reflect their good performance in the longer version game.
We have made some progress in Test cricket. Now we have the game-plan of winning in the sub-continent. We want to win the two Tests against Australia, Hathurusingha told the reporters yesterday.
Bangladesh has already started the practice camp for the home series against Australia and away series against South Africa. While the home condition gave Hathurusingha a confidence, he said their real challenge would to adapt the South African conditions, which every sub-continent team found tougher in the past.
The challenge is to adapt to South African conditions, and then adjust the game-plan. The first two weeks in South Africa before the first Test, is very crucial, the former Sri Lankan batsman said. Chandika Hathurusingha played a pivotal role behind Bangladeshs meteoric surge in the last three years.
Citing the jaw-dropping performances in the 2015 World Cup in Down Under and ICC Champions Trophy 2017, the head coach said that their target is to beat those teams whose positions are up from them.
Winning away from home and beating teams above us--thats what we need to do now. The progress for us is to maintain this success, he pointed out.
We made it to the World Cup quarterfinal and then Champions Trophy semifinal. We have started winning in the sub-continent. We have lot of areas to improve, so we are looking at consistency.
Bangladesh are going through a busy schedule that was opened with the series against the uprising Afghanistan in September last year. They had played a home series against England and then three away series against New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka on the trot. Afterwards they played in ICC Champions Trophy in United Kingdom (UK) in June following a tri-nation series in Ireland in May.
Following a long vacation, they once again returned to the practice, wherein they focused on skills training ahead of the upcoming series.
In this regard, the head coach said that they emphasis on players fitness to bring them into the system prior to the forthcoming series.
The main focus was to get some fitness components into the system. We were playing cricket non-stop from the Afghan series. Boys didnt have time to concentrate on their fitness. We got a good break, so we started with fitness. Now main focus is on skills, the coach informed.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) meanwhile hired a couple of consultants and coaches to sharpen the players skills and technique so that they could give a good fight against the top-level cricket nations.
However Australia-born Mark ONeill joined the team and works to hone the key batsmen along with lower-order batsmen.
Mark is doing the technical base work with the batters. He is working on the tail-enders as well, Hathurusingha said.
Champaka is fast bowling coach, MacGill is spin bowling coach. And this guy (ONeil) is a batting specialist. MacGill is here for three months to see, and if he is happy and the players are benefiting, it will be long-term. For most of the coaches, it is the same, he said of coaches and consultants.
We didnt have a spin bowling coach since Kalpage left us. We need that help, as thats a specialised area. So thats their role. Working for me is easier because all these guys are good coaches and they know what they are doing. For me, giving them the freedom, opportunity and environment to work with the players, he said.
