Whatmore's five

[reverse_swing]

Draw a few Tests first, wait for the biggies to slip up’


After the win, the Bangla coach looks at the broader picture

CHANDRESH NARAYANAN


Mumbai, January 11: Dav Whatmore His Asian connection has so far done wonders for the teams he has helped transform. Sri Lanka first (to the 1996 World Cup) and now Bangladesh.
No wonder then, that a day after Bangladesh won their first ever Test match (against Zimbabwe in Chittagong), Dav Whatmore sounds a relaxed man. ‘‘Keep the faith’’ appears to be his mantra, as he heads into a future of heightened expectations.

Speaking to The Indian Express from Dhaka, Whatmore says there were no late night parties despite the epochal proportions of his team’s feat. ‘‘Just a team dinner’’ so that the ‘‘boys could stay together’’ for a while. And it was back to his notes with an eye to the future.

We had to start with asking him the basic question: Which is more special, the World Cup win or this? ‘‘Tough call,’’ the former Australia batsman says, ‘‘Both are very special and close to my heart. I would only say I am privileged and lucky to have been part of those events. But yes, there is a sense of satisfaction.’’

Prod him a bit, and Whatmore says: ‘‘The World Cup win is more global. That’s a very special one and will take some beating. This was also creating history, but it gives a different feeling. Much more satisfying though.’’

‘‘This was a series we had targeted,’’ Whatmore continues. ‘‘We had an opponent that was at the same level as us. So we told ourselves, ‘we will show that we are better than them’. Now it’s for us to enjoy the moment with our feet firmly on the ground.’’

Which logically leads to a discussion on the future. Zimbabwe couldn’t have been the destination; at best the means to a larger end. ‘‘We have covered some ground, but we have a very long way to go. The first thing will be to show continued improvement. We will also have to try and win this series and then the one-day games.’’

After that come the realistic goals: ‘‘Start off with draw a few Tests against the bigger sides. Be on our guard in one-dayers, so that when they slip we can win.’’

To round things off, we tread on the sensitive issue of the rumours about him taking over from John Wright as the India coach. But that’s where things have to stop. At least for the moment. ‘‘I would not want to comment on it,’’ the history-making Australian coach with an Asian obsession says.

WHATMORE’S FIVE



The five key cogs in the Bangladesh wheel:

Habibul Bashar: He is one man who has shown the worth of scoring on a consistent basis. What separates him is his thirst for runs, which means that if he is not out he will keep the scoreboard ticking over. And that shows in the 2000-odd runs he has scored.

Mohammed Rafique: Whether he is playing a game or at the nets, he always wants the ball. Whether it is domestic cricket or Tests, you will always find him in the thick of the action. Has a terrific cricket brain, and knows the field placements very well. Add to that his capacity to bowl long spells.... He has been our best bet.

Enamul Haque Jr: Someone to watch out for in the future. Given favourable conditions, this youngster can be a handful. He spins the ball and with that action of his can get bounce off the pitch too. Really hungry even at this age. A terrific guy to have around.

Mashrafe bin Mortaza: The lad has tremendous talent. In the short time that he has played after his 13-month injury lay-off, he has shown how much we missed him. He has a great future, is a wonderful athlete on the field and the potential with the bat is also there.

Mohammed Ashraful: He has to learn that unlike the 100 at Chittagong against India, he will not score at such a brisk pace always. He knows consistency is needed from him and is working hard to achieve that. I believe he has still not understood his full potential.

Source>>

Edited on, January 12, 2005, 2:32 PM GMT, by chinaman.
Reason: All-caps removed from title

[capslock]

Hmm, the 'no comment' about him taking over from John Wright is disturbing....

[Kana-Baba]

Originally posted by reverse_swing

Mohammed Ashraful: He has to learn that unlike the 100 at Chittagong against India, he will not score at such a brisk pace always. He knows consistency is needed from him and is working hard to achieve that. I believe he has still not understood his full potential.

Source>>

very well timed remark

[Hasib]

Im sick of Pakistan trying to steal OUR coach!!!

[Zobair]

John Wright is the Indian Coach actually.

Originally posted by Hasib
Im sick of Pakistan trying to steal OUR coach!!!

[fwullah]

John Wright is the Indian Coach actually.

India = Pakistan - all the same.

[fwullah]

Looks like Ashraful is not yet ready to show his full potential as according to Whatmore, he has not yet understood his full potential.

[Kazi Maruf]

Folks, I see everybody has been praising Rafiq, Enamul and Mashrafee
in the bowling side after the test win but did not find much about Taposh.
I believe it is not fare as the 2 early wickets of Taposh at the beginning of Zimbabwe's 2nd innings was very important.

And this is the guy who is serving BD consistantly for a long time these days.

[James90]

Tapash only bowled about 10 overs in the second innings and did a great job in them. He dismissed the openers, your right, his contribution mustn't be underestimated

[Sam]

Originally posted by capslock
Hmm, the 'no comment' about him taking over from John Wright is disturbing....

I agree with capslock. We don't want to lose this coach. He not only coaches the team, but also serves as a strong critic of the naysayers, as a "father"-like shield for the team boys, as a high profile personality, whose words have a great value to the world media and cricket bosses. He is a charismatic figure to our boys to raise their self-belief so high.

[oracle]

I am going to get furious if they snatch our coach.

he needs to be with us untill at least 2007 or beyond. As to these established test nations-and where are their home grown coaches? playing 80 odd years and still no quality coach?

[akabir77]

He needs to be with us until we win a WC which might be in 201...

Edited on, January 12, 2005, 2:19 PM GMT, by akabir77.

[pagol-chagol]

Originally posted by akabir77
He needs to be with us until we win a WC which might be in 201...

Edited on, January 12, 2005, 2:19 PM GMT, by akabir77.

You mean 20137. By then he will be 18183 years old.

[Fazal]

Hmm Pilot is not in the team.

Also no Mushfique !!:P

And after one very good game, Enamul already in the the fav-5! Thats tells a lot about Enamul's future and what the Pundits think about him!

[bdboy]

Originally posted by Kazi Maruf
Folks, I see everybody has been praising Rafiq, Enamul and Mashrafee
in the bowling side after the test win but did not find much about Taposh.
I believe it is not fare as the 2 early wickets of Taposh at the beginning of Zimbabwe's 2nd innings was very important.

And this is the guy who is serving BD consistantly for a long time these days.

Taposh knows what he needs to do very well. He is our Hero always tried to give 100% for country.

[arafath79]

Strange!!!! Whatmore didn't mention the name of Rajin Saleh!!!!

[ZaKi]

yeah why he didn't mention his fav players Rajin Mushfiq or Rana ?...
& well said about Ashraful...We are waiting.. when Ashraful will understand his full potential..

[Beamer]

The above mentioned five by Whatmore are the impact players that we have so far. Just look at our dismal performances when Bashar wasn't available during the ICC trophy and the NZ series. Whenever he scores runs for us, we have a good chance of posting a good total though he had a bad series in terms of runs against India. No need to mention about Rafiq and his importance to us. As far as talent is concerned and being a impactful player, you have to mention Ash, Enam and Masharfi. And thats what he did. Maybe, in the future, the likes of Aftab, Rajin and few others will stand up and be counted as the wheels that drive this wagon. Rana, Babu..need not apply!