L-R:
Bangladesh cricket coach Richard Pybus addresses the media yesterday on
the eve of the Tigers' tour of Europe. They leave here this morning for
Belfast. Shakib Al Hasan comes off the field with his gear after a
practice match at the BCB National Cricket Academy ground in Mirpur
yesterday.Photo: STARAnd everybody will be looking forward to seeing how the team is shaping up, especially in the newest format of the game under the guidance of Richard Pybus. The Englishman had his first assignment with the Tigers in Zimbabwe where his charges won one match each against the hosts and South Africa.
Without any doubt there is no alternative other than winning the matches against Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands but while Pybus was speaking in an official press conference along with his captain Mushfiqur yesterday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, the new Bangladesh coach said that "The goal is every time we play we play with the focus for excellence. We need to make sure that we control our game plan in terms of what we wanted to do."
Pybus was also not ready to make any prediction about the coming series and rated Ireland quite highly.
“I am not in a habit of pulling out a crystal ball and making predictions on series. We will have complete respect for the Irish. They are now big boys. They are very dangerous and the side is made predominantly from county players in England so they are professionals as they have earned the right to play county cricket,” he opined.
Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim once again said that this tour is an opportunity for them to enter into the T20 ranking and as well prove some points in the away tour and coach Pybus also emphasised on the need for playing more T20 games to get accustomed with the format.
“To learn a format you have to play a lot. We need to play as much T20s as possible and then the guys need to decide their spots. And then they will learn to play in combinations and play according to the right game plan in different environments. We need to play a good amount of T-20 games to be a top T20 team in the world,” suggested the Bangladesh head coach, who also talked about the bright sights of his team performance during the Zimbabwe trip.
It is said that Bangladesh is yet to learn the craft of the new version of the game and are still looking for a right combination and Pybus also hinted that there are some spots which are still open.
“There was some good stuff that came out of Zimbabwe. But there are spots which are still open. If I can cut it today I really enjoyed today. I want as much competition for the spots in the senior side as possible. That's what is going to make the team stronger in the future as three or four guys will fight for the same spot. All of these preparations will build towards the World Cup T-20. I think a lot of spots got settled in Zimbabwe and there are a couple for which there is still competition,” he said.
Like Mushfiqur, the Bangladesh coach was also excited about the fact that the world's number one all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is back to the squad for the trip but he once again made it clear that the team comes first to him.
“It's always great to have some of your key players come back into the side. I think it was also very important for him (Shakib) to have a rest. He played cricket for the better part of last 10 to 11 months with IPL and county cricket, I think he came back and is now looking forward to playing with the boys. For me it's about the team. I am glad about him coming back and I am looking forward to Tamim coming back. But it's about the team focus and getting it right there,” said Pybus.
And one thing that satisfied the new Bangladesh coach is most the performance of Mohammad Ashraful, the enigma of Bangladesh cricket, in Zimbabwe.
“I'm pretty satisfied but a lot is still to come from him (Ashraful). He combined well with Tamim. And as far as Mohammad Ashraful is concerned he started off well in Zimbabwe,” an apparently happy Bangladesh coach said.
Source : The daily star
World Twenty20 spots up for grabs – Pybus
Following Raqibul Hasan‘s 61-ball 140 for Bangladesh A in the last of the three Twenty20 practise games, Bangladesh coach Richard Pybus has said there are spots to be won in the national squad for September’s World Twenty20.
The match in Mirpur, at a ground with short boundaries, was an ordeal for bowlers. Bangladesh A chased a 244-run target
with five balls to spare, Raqibul smashing eleven sixes and fourteen
boundaries in an out-of-character batting performance. This knock would
have helped Raqibul – who last played for Bangladesh in 2011 – regain
some lost ground, but he should not get too excited; Pybus’s comments
about “open spots” could also have alluded to the bowling unit or even
one of the batting spots in the middle-order, as both have shown a lack
of Twenty20 skills.
“There was good stuff that came out of [the tri-series] Zimbabwe.
[But] I still have some spots that are open,” Pybus said. “It’s
important for me, as a head coach, to see what depth we [have] got in
the system. I have been waiting for guys to put their hand up under
pressure and show what they can do.
“Our bowling was obviously not as good
as it should have been today. I want as much competition for the spots
in senior side as possible. That’s what going to make the team stronger
in future, three-four guys must be waiting for the same spot.”
The series was a prelude to Bangladesh’s
trip to Europe, where they will play five Twenty20s in the next two
weeks, including a three-match Twenty20 series against Ireland, and a
game each against Scotland and the Netherlands at the Hague.
Captain Mushfiqur Rahim
agreed with Pybus, about places in the squad being up for grabs. “Coach
isn’t too far off the mark, because we only have four or five players
who are guaranteed in the Twenty20 team. If we can raise our game at an
individual level, it will help the team,” he said. “We batted well
today, but the bowling didn’t go as planned.”
Pybus said Bangladesh needed to play more Twenty20s to improve in the format. “To learn a format, as a team, you have to play [it] a lot. Just like the domestic sides playing competitions year after year. We need to play as much Twenty20s as possible and once that is sorted out, guys need to decide their [roles].
“Then they will learn to play in combination and according to the right game plan in different environments. The thing that I was very pleased about [in] Zimbabwe
was that we got out from the subcontinent and went to the southern
hemisphere, where we got some bouncy wickets. We adjusted very well and
played the conditions very well.”
Mushfiqur and Pybus were wary of their European hosts, especially after losing to both Ireland and Netherlands in ODIs in 2010, and to Ireland in the 2009 World Twenty20.
“We do have an idea about their cricket. There aren’t any big or small
teams in Twenty20s; the [team] which does well on the day usually
wins,” Mushfiqur said.
He was, however, confident of positive
performances from his side. “While we don’t have a good record playing
against Ireland abroad, we are a stronger side now, since we have
played together for quite a number of years. Our target will be to win
the series, stay balanced and consistent ahead of the [Twenty20] World
Cup, and stay confident.”
Bangladesh will leave for Europe on July
11 on what is their second tour in preparation for the World Twenty20,
following last’s months tri-series featuring Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Source : ESPN
Sunil Gavaskar, India’s original Little Master, turns 63
NEW DELHI:
Sunil Gavaskar, who celebrates his 63rd birthday today, remains one of
India’s greatest batsmen. His sound technique and flawless batting
style made him India’s most dependable batsman and his wicket one of
the prized ones for the bowlers. While Indian batsmen even today
struggle against fast bowling, Gavaskar relished facing fast bowlers.
This is evident in his batting average of 65.45 against the West
Indies, who were the best team that had a lethal pace attack at that
time.July 10, 1949: Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is born in Bombay, now Mumbai.
1966: Was named India’s Best Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year after scoring 246*, 222 and 85 in his final year of secondary education.
1968-69: He made his Ranji Trophy debut against Karnataka, but was out for a duck. He, however, later hit 3 centuries to impress the selectors.
1970-71: Was selected for India’s tour of the West Indies and made his Test debut in the second Test in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, after missing the 1st Test due to an infected fingernail. Scored 61 and 67 not out, hitting the winning runs which gave India its first ever victory over the Windies.
He also made his maiden Test ton in the 3rd Test and followed it up with another in the fourth match before slamming a century in both innings of the fifth and final Test, which also included his first double ton. He helped India register their first ever series victory over the West Indies, and the only one until 2006. He also became the first Indian to make four centuries in one Test series and also to aggregate more than 700 runs in a series. His total of 774 runs remains the most runs scored in a debut series by any batsman.
1975-76: In January ’76, he made his debut as India captain during the 1st Test against New Zealand in Auckland after regular captain Bishen Bedi suffered from a leg injury. In December while playing against England at Delhi, Gavaskar was mobbed after becoming the first Indian to reach 1000 Test runs in a calendar year.
One of his most famous knocks, but for all the wrong reasons, came in the 1975 World Cup at Lord’s against England. He carried his bat through the full 60 overs, scoring only 36 not out, leading Indian supporters to storm the field and confront him. He had the flair and the technique but was never really a flamboyant batsman. And, that’s the reason he had a very average record in ODIs.
1978-79: India toured Pakistan for the first series between the archrivals for 17 years. After narrowly missing out on hundreds in first Two Tests, he scored 111 and 137 in the 3rd to become the first Indian to score two centuries in one Test on two occasions. He also surpassed Polly Umrigar (3,631) as India’s leading Test runscorer.
He also became the full-fledged captain for the first time with a home series against the West Indies. In the fifth Test at Delhi, he posted his fourth century for the series, scoring 120 to become the first Indian to cross 4,000 Test runs. He aggregated 732 runs at 91.50 for the series, securing India a 1–0 win in his first series as captain.
1979-80: He was stripped of the captaincy for India’s tour of England amid speculations that the little master would defect to the rebellious World Series Cricket. Nonetheless, Gavaskar finished the series with 542 runs at 77.42 and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
1983-84: In November ’83, playing against his favourite opponent, the West Indies, Gavaskar hit his 29th Test century in 94 balls in the 2nd Test at Delhi, equalling Don Bradman’s world record. He also passed 8000 Test runs in the innings, and was personally honoured at the ground by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the next Test at Ahmedabad, he scored 90 and passed England’s Geoff Boycott’s Test world record of 8114 career runs.
In the 6th Test in Madras, now Chennai, he got his 30th Test century, becoming the leading centurion in the world, with an unbeaten 236 which was also the then highest Test score by an Indian. It was his 13th Test century and third double century against the West Indies.
1986-87: On December 21 1986, Gavaskar scored his 34th and final Test century, a knock of 176 in the 1st Test against Sri Lanka at Kanpur. After the Lankan series, he played Pakistan in what was his last Test series. In the fourth Test at Ahmedabad, Gavaskar became the first batsman to go past 10,000 runs during his knock of 63. The following match at Bangalore on March 13, 1987, turned out to be his final Test, in which he finished with scores of 21 and 96.
On the ODI front, after having gone through his entire career without scoring a one-day century, he manages his first (and only ODI century) in the 1987 World Cup. He slammed an unbeaten 103 against New Zealand at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, in his penultimate ODI inning.
1993: Gavaskar proved he was not only a hero on the cricket field but also off it, when during the 1993 riots in Mumbai, he helped rescue a Muslim family from a mob near his residence, telling the mob “first you have to hit me”.
2008: He was forced to step down as chairman of ICC Cricket Committee after his scathing attack on match referee Mike Procter after the controversial Sydney Test between India and Australia irks the ICC. Some of Gavaskar’s comments in his columns did not go down well with the ICC officials as he alleged that Procter preferred to agree with a “white player’s version” than a player of Sachin Tendulkar’s integrity during the racial row involving Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds in Australia.
Gavaskar resigned after ICC asked the former Indian captain to choose between his job as a commentator and columnist and that of the chairman of the cricket committee.
The little master, who has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan, continues to be actively associated with the game in the capacity of a cricket expert and commentator. He also has a happy family life with wife Marshneil and son Rohan, who is also a cricketer and has played a few games for India.
Source : The Independent
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