Walsh irked by criticism, urges Bangladesh bowlers for consistency and control

With prickly words about the effectiveness of Bangladesh pacers floating around, their mentor Courtney Walsh is looking to train them for 'consistency and control'.

The social media discussions and mainstream media reports of bowling actions changing or the drop in bowlers’ edge have come as 'irritation' to the Caribbean bowling coach.

But the fact remains, Walsh never really got the time to work on the Tigers pace bowling unit since his appointment. Now the time is plentiful, and Walsh is keen to put that to good use.

Bangladesh Head Coach  Chandika Hathurusingha and his assistant coach are still on vacation after the Champions Trophy. But Walsh has returned early from his holidays to invest the time into training the pacers at the fitness camp.

He began working separately with Mustafizur Rahman, but now he has taken all the pacers in the camp under his wing.

The tall West Indian arrived in Dhaka as the Tigers’ pace bowling mentor last September. But Bangladesh went through a packed schedule after that.

The BPL followed the back-to-back Afghanistan and England series. The team then flew to Australia for a training camp, before the launch of their December-January fixtures against New Zealand for their first overseas tour after more than two years. The tour was immediately followed by a trip to India for a one-off Test.

The Sri Lanka tour came after that, followed by a break in their international fixtures for the domestic league. The Tigers then travelled to Ireland for the tri-nation series which acted the part of their preparation for the Champions Trophy held in England and Wales last month.

Walsh got very little time to help the bowlers focus on improvement.

“It is the first chance I have had to do any serious work with them. Since my arrival, they have been in the competition, so it is hard to do a lot of stuff while they are playing games,” he said on Tuesday.

“So contrary to what a lot of people are writing and saying that I have changed actions, nothing of that sort has happened. We are just providing more encouragement and trying to help.

“Now this is a chance to correct whatever mistakes we saw on the horizon. This is one of the reasons why I came a bit earlier, to try to correct them as best as I can regarding working with the players. It is hard to make wholesale changes when you are in competition,” he added.

The incessant rain, however, has impeded Walsh’s plans. But he is making up by holding sessions indoor.

“We have been trying to fine-tune and correct some of those mistakes, to improve on certain areas. Progress has been made, but unfortunately we have had some inclement weather so not as much progress has been made as I would have liked,” the 54-year-old West Indian said.

“But we are not wasting the days. Whenever we can, may be we are going outdoors, but we are having meetings inside, just discussing cricket and trying to get the cricket brain sharp.”

The Tigers’ pacers, barring Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, are not too experienced. Walsh thinks their inconsistency is hugely responsible for that.

“One of the main basics is consistency. They’ve not been as consistent as they should be or can be. It comes with experience, but unfortunately, we don’t tour often.

“It is not a major jump they have to take, but it is about consistency and control. Then their confidence level will go up. They are willing to work hard which is a big plus.”

Apart from their eagerness, the legendary fast-bowler is optimistic because the unit is teeming with youth.

“That [age] is the biggest plus. They are still young enough to grasp what’s going on. And you’re going to learn from different conditions. Touring has helped as they see the difference between New Zealand and India. They now know the adjustment that has to be made.

“The most seasoned campaigner we have is Mash. He knows the conditions. He has been passing on whatever advice and tips he can to the youngsters. They are all eager to learn.”

Walsh sees potential in the young group and makes his point by stressing the issue of consistency and control.

“I want to see more consistency, control, variation and more thought into what they are doing. They are young and exciting but if we can get them a little bit more consistent and keep the pace up. Once they get on to the park they have to do it, we can’t do it for them.

“I have been telling them that, ‘You are in control of your own destiny, just go out there and get the job done. Try to improve and learn all the time’. If they can achieve the first part – control and consistency – before the competition starts, I will be very happy.

Bangladesh’s international season will begin in little more than a month when Australia arrive. The bowlers will then get their chance to make their mentor happy.