ZCZC
BSP-15
CRICKET-DOMINGO-BATSMEN
Criticism on batsmen absolutely unfair, says Domingo
DHAKA, Oct 22, 2020 (BSS)—Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo is pleased with the performance of the batsmen despite they came up with a pretty ordinary batting show in the ongoing BCB President’s Cup.
Apart from Mushfiqur and some youngsters’ occasional flashes of brilliance, most of the batsmen looked vulnerable in the wicket which was not so conducive for batting. When batsmen need to have patience in this kind of the wicket, they play rash shots or forced shots to be out.
But Domingo rather said the criticism of batsmen is unfair since they have come here to play cricket after a long time.
“I am very happy. I think this tournament is being played with fantastic intensity. You look at how hard the guys are trying in the field, the way the bowlers have bowled. Sure, it would be nice if we got some more runs but I think everybody has to understand that the players haven’t played any competitive cricket for nearly seven months,” Domingo said.
“A few batters who joined the group have only started in the last week or two. The main thing for me as a coach was to make sure the guys were getting some game time. There’s no better practice than playing matches. All the games have been competitive,” he added.
He went on to say: “The wickets haven’t been that easy. I think maybe that’s why the batters have struggled as you saw last night. Some young players have put in good performances. Some of the senior guys like Mushfiq, Riyad and Tamim got some runs. The main thing is that the guys are playing some competitive cricket.”
Domingo also came down heavily on the critics of the batsmen, saying that they should not forget that these batsmen played nicely against Zimbabwe before the Covid-19 outbreak.
“You have to remember that the guys haven’t played cricket for seven months. It is a long time without competitive cricket. There’s no doubt that the guys will get better. They will play together as a unit. You look at last night, in the top six maybe two of those are in our starting eleven in our white-ball cricket,” he said.
“I think it is a bit unfair to say they are consistently failing. It was just six or seven months ago that we 340 against Zimbabwe in a one-day series. Liton got 180, Tamim got two hundreds, so I think it is a bit unfair. Most important thing is the guys are getting some game-time. The performances are not important, as far as I am concerned,” he remarked.
“I think the obsession with trying to win this tournament, and the media wanting guys to win and perform all the time, is unrealistic considering the guys haven’t played for six or seven months. I’d like the media to maybe support the players a little bit more and not harshly judge them on performances based on ten days of cricket, having not played for seven months. Maybe give the guys a little bit of a breathing space.”
Domingo however credited the bowlers for the batsmen’s poor performance, saying the bowlers were absolutely lethal in the BCB President’s Cup.
“All we have been asking for in the last seven or eight months is try to find some good young fast bowlers. Now we are finally developing a good group of fast bowlers who can be competitive,” he said.
“If you look at Taskin, Fizz, Al-Amin, Hasan Mahmud, Khaled, Shoriful. There are six or seven fast bowlers who can do well in international cricket. If a team gets 280, we will say the bowlers are bad. If a team gets 180, we will say the batsmen are bad. I think there has been some really good bowling in the last two weeks, and that’s a big positive for me. I think it is always easier to start after not playing for a long time than the batsmen,” he concluded.
BSS/SMP/AU/18:25 hrs