Sports
Naveed Nawaz compares Junior cricket structure of Bangladesh with Sri Lanka
by Reemus Fernando
Former Sri Lanka national player Naveed Nawaz has been involved in coaching Under-19 national players for more than a decade now. Some of the players who were under him when he was the coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 team are now competing in the ICC T20 World Cup. In Bangladesh, he had immense success when the team he coached went on to become the Youth World Cup champions at the last edition. Some of the players he coached in that team too have gone on to represent the country at the senior national level. His success with the Bangladesh Under-19 team has earned him accolades and a worthy job extension beyond the upcoming Youth World Cup. However, Nawaz is not with the Bangladesh Under-19 team currently touring Sri Lanka. He is in Australia attending to a family matter but is confident that his charges will be well looked after by his staff during the five-match series starting on Friday.
In an interview with The Island, the former Sri Lanka Under-19 coach compared and contrasted the challenges in the two countries where junior players come from two different structures.
“If you compare the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi Under-19 systems the player turn out in the Bangladesh Under-19 programme is much less than the Sri Lankan Under-19 programme. Due to the strong school cricket structure in Sri Lanka, there is a good player turnout and a bigger pool of players to select from. In Bangladesh, the numbers are lesser than that. The number of players we pick the Under-19 team from is much less. I would consider it as a disadvantage because sometimes you are restricted to a lesser number of players. Some challengers like the variety of players that you are looking for are really not there. But due to the strong Club Cricket system in Bangladesh and also the Provincial Cricket system in Bangladesh a lot of players at a very early age get exposed to playing First and Second Division cricket. They play a lot of cricket with senior players. That is a great experience. Obviously, that is an advantage when you are playing against an Under-19 team. Nevertheless, any Under-19 system is a difficult area to work with because the continuation of the player pool is not there. At Under-19 level we get new players coming in every two years. It is not that you build a certain squad and you get an opportunity to work with them until they grow and mature into an international cricketer. Every two years you are turning the squad around and get fresh players coming into the squad. You are basically repeating a programme every two years
Asked what impact the Youth World Cup victory by Bangladesh Under-19 had on his coaching career he had this to say. “The Youth World Cup win had a massive impact on me personally. The first thing for me was the reality that the programme that I put across for the two-year period had worked really well and the players have responded well to the programme which was satisfying. The programme had been running for two years. It was not only winning a World Cup (which was satisfying), but also for a team from Bangladesh to do really well in England as well as New Zealand. I think that was the main thing that paved the way for us to move on and win a World Cup in South Africa. It was a massive achievement for an Asian team. It is not like winning a World Cup in the subcontinent. Our players played really well, batted and bowled exceptionally well competing against the best cricketing systems in the world on fast bouncy wickets in South Africa. The World Cup win had a massive impact on my reputation as a coach.”
In comparison to the Sri Lanka Under-19 team who commenced training recently, the Bangladesh Under-19 tram had spent a year together though their training had been inconsistent due to the Covid 19 pandemic. “We started training in October 2020. But training could not continue regularly. Some of our camps got disrupted due to lockdowns and Covid 19 outbreak and various issues due to the pandemic. There were various tours planned by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. But they got cancelled.
“Training got affected in a massive way. Almost three or four of our camps got disrupted due to the Covid 19 outbreak and lockdowns in Bangladesh. BCB had planned tours to Pakistan and England. Both got cancelled. They could not be rescheduled due to worldwide issues from travel issues to biosecurity issues. Like any other country. It was a big blow,” said Nawaz commenting on the impact the Covid 19 pandemic had on the team’s preparation for the Youth World Cup.
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
