Tait, speaking ahead of Monday’s Qualifier 1, in which Chittagong will take on table-toppers and defending champions Barishal, said he had been particularly looking forward to working with the fast-bowling talents at this tournament at a time when Bangladeshi fast bowling is surging.
“I said to him let’s focus on some really simple stuff. Nowadays in T20 cricket, you can get really confused with field settings. You can get confused with six different deliveries to bowl [in one over]. I tried to get away the fear of being hit. We talked about getting just two or three [types of] deliveries right. We took the analytics away from the game, and kept it simple.”
Tait took a practical approach towards training sessions, making sure that the Chittagong squad focused on what they needed for the upcoming game instead of looking too far ahead.
Tait credited the rest of his coaching staff for their part in Chittagong’s success. “I have really enjoyed working with our players. It is not just me in this tournament. I have been the head coach so overseen everything, but we have had a lot of guys who have done the skills work as well.
“We have kept it really simple. We tried to make them [players] understand that if you are really good at your skill, you don’t need to look at all the other factors in the game.”
Overall, Tait has been impressed with the Bangladeshi fast bowlers on show, particularly Hasan Mahmud at the death, and Taskin Ahmed as the role model. “Nahid Rana and Hasan Mahmud have been really good. I didn’t realise Mahmud was such a good death bowler. He hit some yorkers and stuff,” Tait said. “I had only seen him bowl in Tests. I was particularly impressed with him.
“There’s been a lot mentioned about Nahid Rana and his pace. The consistency is going to be a thing for him, as he continues his cricket in the future.
