Bangladesh ‘A’ team coach Stuart Barnes pointed out that fitness and skill-level of the players were not up to the mark in order to be successful and was the reason for their dismal performance in the Shafi Dharashah tournament in India.
The second-string Bangladesh side started off the four-day competition on a positive note when they drew the opening game against Baroda Cricket Association XI, but lost the other two group games against
KSCA Colts by five wickets and KSCA XI by 155 runs respectively to be eliminated from the group stage.
‘It was a tough tour, this being the off-season for Bangladesh players. Playing four-day matches with only one day in between to recover and review the performances was always going to be tough physically,’ Barnes told reporters on Sunday.
‘We played against good players so whilst our preparation in Bangladesh went pretty well, our skills and fitness level were not there where it needed to be in that tournament,’ said Barnes.
Barnes also figured out that lack of first-class cricket in Bangladesh also played its part on the players’ mindset that ultimately ruined their chances even though there were times when they were controlling the game.
‘What I saw in India reflected the number of one-day matches compared to four-day matches that the players play here.
‘Batters need patience, discipline and need to be mentally tough enough to be within their batting plan because their job is to bat all day. But in order to get to that point where they need to know how to bat all day, they need to practice it in matches domestically,’ said Barnes.
‘Because of the number of one-day matches that they play here, they weren’t just going to be able to switch to the different skill-set they need for four-day cricket. It was disappointing not to win any games but that was a fair reflection that they don’t know how to play the longer game yet,’ he said.
Barnes did not want to comment on the behavior of Shahriar Nafees, who was sent back home due to misconduct at the midst of the tour.
Shahriar returned home after the second match when the Bangladesh Cricket Board management decided to bring him back on the basis of reports of coach and the officials of the ‘A’ team in India.
‘It’s important to have an environment that encourages players to learn, and not just about skills, but about playing in different parts of the world. That incident was unfortunate, but I won’t speak about it until I talk to my board directors here,’ said Barnes.
‘Shahriar is a very experienced player but there are areas he needs to improve like any player and I honestly believe that if a player is committed to achieving excellence, they can achieve anything they want,’ said Barnes.
‘So for any player if he wants to get better and not settle for what his career stats currently say, and he seeks the right help, he can come back from anything,’ he added.
Bangladesh ‘A’s next assignment is against the West Indies High Performance team in September. They will play a four-day game, three one-day matches and two T20’s.
-With New Age input
