We are on the right track for big things, says Siddons
Thursday, 27 August 2009
It has been a terrific last couple of months for the Tigers. The Test and ODI series sweep in the West Indies was followed by a 4-1 thrashing of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo and the Bangladesh team and its players broke and rewrote records along the way. These moments have been particularly special for Head Coach Jamie Siddons who has seen his belief in the young group starting to pay off. The coach summarizes the triumphant journey and looks ahead to the busy future, according to website TigerCricket.com.
Yes the tour was a huge success and to win two Test matches (the first for most of us) was amazing. Teams are truly judged on how they perform in the longer version as there is no place to hide and if you don't play well for the five days then you will lose. We have been preparing for Test cricket the whole time. I have been involved with batsmen practicing the skills required to both survive and succeed, mostly handling the short ball and also being prepared and skillful enough to leave the danger ball outside off stump and wait for the bowler to bowl a bad ball.
Our focus on spin bowling and including many allrounders in our team was a bonus as we had many options in the spin department to back up the pure class of Shakib Al Hasan, the best allrounder in the world.
Of course the fact that some of the established West Indies players went on strike when we arrived made our chances of winning a lot more realistic and possible. The cricket we played however was first class and the opening batting of Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes in the Test matches and then that of Tamim and Zunaed Siddique in the one dayers continually set the foundation for the middle order to thrive and make scores that would enable us to win the matches.
I believe that the players though still very young and on the whole very inexperienced, have just shown the wisdom and improvement that comes with time. They have all been together in the team for over 12 months since the departure of a number of players to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which by the way has been quickly forgotten by many when judging our team! This group is gaining more and more confidence at this level and will continue to improve as time goes on.
Shakib's captaincy was successful although at times his youth was tested and his patience with others of lesser ability in his team tested. He led magnificently with his own performance throughout the tour and I think won three or four man of the match awards and man of the series as well.
We had great performances throughout the tour. Players like Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Zunaed, Mushfique and Dollar Mamud played major roles at times in winning matches for us with both the bat and ball! The more well known match winners like Shakib and Mohammed Ashraful were at times outstanding and made their presence felt over and over. Ashraful is still searching for consistency but his hundred in the first ODI in Zimbabwe set the tone for that series. Tamim continued to show maturity and improvement and followed his maiden Test century in the West Indies with a man of the series prize in Zimbabwe to signal that he was a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Yes the tour was a huge success and to win two Test matches (the first for most of us) was amazing. Teams are truly judged on how they perform in the longer version as there is no place to hide and if you don't play well for the five days then you will lose. We have been preparing for Test cricket the whole time. I have been involved with batsmen practicing the skills required to both survive and succeed, mostly handling the short ball and also being prepared and skillful enough to leave the danger ball outside off stump and wait for the bowler to bowl a bad ball.
Our focus on spin bowling and including many allrounders in our team was a bonus as we had many options in the spin department to back up the pure class of Shakib Al Hasan, the best allrounder in the world.
Of course the fact that some of the established West Indies players went on strike when we arrived made our chances of winning a lot more realistic and possible. The cricket we played however was first class and the opening batting of Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes in the Test matches and then that of Tamim and Zunaed Siddique in the one dayers continually set the foundation for the middle order to thrive and make scores that would enable us to win the matches.
I believe that the players though still very young and on the whole very inexperienced, have just shown the wisdom and improvement that comes with time. They have all been together in the team for over 12 months since the departure of a number of players to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which by the way has been quickly forgotten by many when judging our team! This group is gaining more and more confidence at this level and will continue to improve as time goes on.
Shakib's captaincy was successful although at times his youth was tested and his patience with others of lesser ability in his team tested. He led magnificently with his own performance throughout the tour and I think won three or four man of the match awards and man of the series as well.
We had great performances throughout the tour. Players like Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Zunaed, Mushfique and Dollar Mamud played major roles at times in winning matches for us with both the bat and ball! The more well known match winners like Shakib and Mohammed Ashraful were at times outstanding and made their presence felt over and over. Ashraful is still searching for consistency but his hundred in the first ODI in Zimbabwe set the tone for that series. Tamim continued to show maturity and improvement and followed his maiden Test century in the West Indies with a man of the series prize in Zimbabwe to signal that he was a force to be reckoned with in the future.