In his brief time with the side, Bangladesh fast-bowling coach Shaun Tait has witnessed possibly the best spell of fast bowling by one of the team’s players. We spoke to him in Dhaka about how he is shaping this and the next batch of quick bowlers and coaches for the future.
Shoriful Islam doesn’t get a chance to play ODIs for 16 months, and then he comes and bowls a brilliant spell in the first ODI against New Zealand.
Yeah, he adapted the quickest among all the bowlers in the match. He just stuck to his strengths. We talk about it with him all the time. He bowled a really nice line. He kept it very basic, didn’t overcomplicate his game.
Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman] got injured. When Shoriful was told that he was going to play, I was standing next to him. I told him, “Well, sometimes it’s best to just come in without thinking about it too much.” Sometimes you can be overprepared for games. And, you know, if you’re training all the time and playing all the time – you know, he’s come back from the PSL – you don’t really have to think about it too much. You’re sort of on autopilot, really.
He is in good form. He bowled really well; I think he also impressed a lot of people in the PSL.
What does that performance say about Bangladesh’s fast-bowling depth?
It says a lot. He is one of four fast bowlers in the squad right now. I think sometimes as a coach – if you’re a batting coach or bowling coach – a lot of your time is spent on the next guy in [line]. That is actually what half your job is as a coach.
I think the other thing that helps is that Shoriful was playing matches even if it was only T20s. If you’re playing competitive games of cricket, I find that so much better than just having net sessions all the time. So he was playing competitive cricket in the PSL, pretty good standard, and then straight into a one-day international. I think it’s a good preparation.
Right now, Nahid Rana is all the rage. He is the most talked-about fast bowler in Bangladesh, probably ever. What do you make of his progress since his debut and in the last one year that you have seen him?
I think the most important thing is that he is playing more. He just needed to get his chance in the Bangladesh cricket team. You can clearly see that he has all the ability. He has the pace and the talent. It is all there. Which probably talks about the depth as well. Now he is finally getting a proper chance in white-ball cricket. He is in the PSL, where he bowled extremely well. He rattled some cages. He bowled some good short balls, and he has taken some wickets. Young express bowlers are exciting, so he was always going to be spoken about more than most.
There are other things that come with express fast bowlers. It is not always your day. Maybe this wicket wasn’t your wicket; but at the end of the day, he is a weapon. We saw that against Pakistan last month.
Does he remind you of your younger days in any way?
I think his character is in some ways similar to me. He’s pretty laid-back. He’s pretty sure of his own game, and he doesn’t overcomplicate things. I think I was a bit similar. He’s a country boy; I was a country boy. So yeah, I think so.
Taskin Ahmed and Fizz, what are their roles like these days? Are they the senior statesmen of the group?
Well, it’s a great balance, a great variety of age in the team and in the fast-bowling ranks. Leading into this game, if we’re talking about having a bowling meeting, Fizz and Taskin now are doing a fair bit of the talking, which is exactly how I want it.
I want to do less talking and I want those two senior players to do a bit. Only because, again, I’m going to go back to my own experience. My best bowling coaches were my team-mates, and I was lucky to play in an Australian era of great fast bowlers. There was a bunch of them.
[Tanzim Hasan] Sakib, Rana and Shoriful are some of the newer guys, and they have got Taskin and Fizz, who are willing to give some stuff to them. Give some knowledge. And as a bowling environment, that’s exactly what I want here.
Where do you stand when it comes to the red ball vs white ball balance for fast bowlers? I mean, do you have your guys for red-ball cricket set in your mind?
It is not really my call, to be honest. I mean, I’m a little bit more like – I don’t like pigeonholing too much. I prefer a bit of a revolving door, actually. And then [it’s about] who’s fit.
Look, Fizz is not going to play Test cricket. Like, he is probably the one that we know where he’s at, at his stage of his career. He knows where he’s at. So there’s a couple of guys that you know where they’re going to be. I think I like the idea of having all of them available and then hopefully the selectors and captains can work out what they want. But you want them all pretty much ready.
Bangladesh’s fast-bowling group is the most thriving part of the team, especially if you consider how fast bowling was nearly killed off around ten years ago. What can everyone else in Bangladesh cricket learn from this group of fast bowlers and how they have evolved?
What they can learn is, despite the pitches that are provided to the fast bowlers, they still get on with their stuff at the end of the day. We have a good depth of fast bowling regardless of the conditions. I think they can adapt on any pitch.
In saying that, I think there’s a culture in Bangladesh cricket that they’re not there yet with the idea that their strength is fast bowling. Let’s be honest. A lot of people know, right now, what our strength is. I’m not sure Bangladesh cricket is quite ready to accept that.
Do you consult with local coaches, ones who are not part of the national set-up?
I have actually had a chance to do that in Rajshahi, where I went to watch the BCL [Bangladesh Cricket League] matches. We had a bit of time in the last few months, so I spent some time with the local coaches. It was really good. I genuinely enjoyed my time with the coaches.
I think it was just good to chat about cricket in general. There was nothing specific. Some of the [local] coaches have been coming in here to Mirpur and working with the squad as well. So there’s a bunch of them there that are pretty keen to be involved around the squad and the extended squad. They have been helping us out quite a lot. They have been giving their thoughts and I have actually really enjoyed that.
Do you plan to improve the skills of the bowlers in this current group? Are there certain skills that you think they should have?
As far as the skills are concerned, the first six months that I was in this role, I put a big emphasis on death bowling. It was then unfortunate that we pulled out of the T20 World Cup. It was all geared towards the T20 World Cup. It was leading into the fact that we were going to be playing in India, where you’re off [makes a gesture to indicate batters going for sixes] in the slog overs, you are in trouble. I put a lot of energy into that.
We have got obviously different goals now, and I think you see glimpses, like with Taskin during the first ODI. I thought he was fantastic at the death. He hit some yorkers and a couple of change-ups. So the fruits are bearing themselves a little bit. I think as far as actual skills go, that’s probably the one thing I can say that would stand out. And the rest of it is just [creating] an ongoing environment.
Any plans to widen the net to look for more raw talent — like maybe finding the next Nahid Rana?
I think that would be up to the BCB, to be honest. I don’t think me personally sitting here now, it’s not really my decisions to make. I would happily be involved in it. Speaking to [senior assistant coach Mohammad] Salahuddin, he certainly has brought up a couple of things about a fast-bowling hunt again around Bangladesh. I think it is actually exciting. I wouldn’t mind being part of it. But, you know, that’s up to the BCB.
You have worked a lot around the subcontinent, played here as well, worked with bowlers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh as a bowling coach. Not to compare them, but where does Bangladesh’s fast bowling stand right now?
Right now, it is right up in the mark. I have worked in a few leagues and whatnot. I spent a year with Pakistan. Obviously, we know their fast bowlers are really good. But right now as it stands, if you look at [Bangladesh’s] last series against Pakistan, you know, once we got a wicket that actually gives a little bit for our guys, they just dominate the game.
A perfect example was Shoriful [in the first ODI against New Zealand]. The fact that he can come in and bowl like that, I was very pleased for him.
I think the other thing that stands out at the moment is that when they played in the PSL, Fizz, Rana and Shoriful did extremely well. I think that goes to show, and I think there’s going to be more international eyes on this group of fast bowlers. There’s going to be more opportunities for them, I think. I just hope that here, at home, we can promote that a bit more with the conditions.
I enjoy coaching in this part of the world. Obviously I spent all my playing career in Australia. I think for me it’s always been an exciting thought to be in a different part of the world and see different cricket. The subcontinent is close to me. My wife is from India. I spend a lot of time in this part of the world, regardless of cricket. I go back and forth from India. So it is fascinating to me. The landscape of the subcontinent cricket here is fascinating.
