Blames off-field issues for performance
The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s increased focus on elections and an inexperienced management group making decisions were the reasons behind the miserable failure of Bangladesh cricketers this summer, Sahara-BCB National Academy manager Richard McInnes said on Friday.
Despite fielding a strong A team in England, the tourists have lost seven out of seven one-day matches so far, including five defeats at the hands of county sides, while the Bangladesh Under-23s were eliminated from the ACC Emerging Nations Cup after losing to the UAE by 59 runs on Thursday.
Earlier this month, the Under-19s failed to qualify for the final of the tri-nation series in England, losing out to the hosts and to Pakistan as the junior Tigers managed just a single victory in their six matches to finish with three points.
Even though he had been relatively successful in his previous stint in Bangladesh, McInnes, who travelled with the Under-19 side and had been instrumental in the development of all three teams, has come under scrutiny as an academy manager after all the three sides produced disappointing performances.
Reflecting on the dismal results, the Australian broke his silence and came down hard on the BCB, where cricket seems to carry the least amount of importance with management-level personnel busy forming their panel for the coming election.
‘Absolutely, particularly with the election coming up. The actual production of good cricket system definitely takes a back seat to most other issues,’ McInnes said via text message on Friday.
‘This is because of a lack of senior management to run that aspect of the business,’ said McInnes.
‘There are some really good people, but they are trying to do everything and it is simply not possible for them,’ he added, referencing their inexperience.
‘I don’t think it is a conscious decision to overlook out [sic] system, but it is the least understood area and is always pushed down the list. Then they wonder why teams don’t perform. It is no surprise really.’
The former Australian team performance analyst also cited the uncertainty of the Dhaka Premier League as a major hindrance to planning for the cricketers during the offseason.
The DPL, which was supposed to start in March, had been deferred on four occasions, leading many to suggest the delays were due to BCB boss Nazmul Hasan’s extra affection towards the premier league clubs, from whom he expects major backing during the election.
‘The uncertainty of the Dhaka Premier League meant that we really had no training session this off-season and that has impacted,’ McInnes said.
‘Systematic issues across how we administer cricket make it hard to build sustained consistence [sic] performance levels,’ the message continued.
‘Lack of coordinated approach between all cricket area means all decisions are made without consideration of how it will impact on other area.
‘No central person or group overseeing what is the best for the development of good cricketers and teams, hence we don’t produce them,’ he added.
McInnes further stressed that expectations need to be curtailed considering the huge gap between each success.
‘Our good performances are the exceptions not norm, but everyone bases their expectations on the odd good performances which is wrong.’
McInnes concluded by questioning the overall BCB strategy.
‘See if you can get hold of BCB strategic plan, which will outline the mission and the key objective of the organisation.’
McInnes had previously been the Bangladesh High Performance Unit manager, as well as the A team and Under-19 team coach, from 2003 to 2005, a tenure which produced current national team mainstays like Sakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and captain Mushfiqur Rahim, as well as several players on the fringes of the national team scene. He returned to the post in August 2012.
-With New Age input
