The Hindu : Bangladesh needs a strong domestic league: Chappell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 18, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

Bangladesh needs a strong domestic league: Chappell

DHAKA APRIL 17. Bangladesh's development as a competitive international cricket team is being hampered by its weak domestic leagues, says outgoing coach Trevor Chappell.

``It's domestic first-class cricket that makes players mentally strong and prepares them for Test cricket,'' said Chappell, who coached Bangladesh for a year until he was fired last week. ``But Bangladesh's domestic cricket is very weak.''

After a string of losses, the Bangladesh Cricket Board decided to replace Chappell and appointed former Pakistani Test player Mohsin Kamal as its new national coach.

Bangladesh has not won a Test or limited-overs international since it became the International Cricket Council's 10th fully fledged Test-playing nation in 2000.

``In Bangladesh, it's a huge step from local to international cricket. When the players get to Test cricket, they struggle ... They are outclassed and out of depth,'' Chappell told The Associated Press.

``Bangladesh is the No. 10 Test nation in international cricket, but there is a huge gap between No. 9 and No. 10,'' he said. ``It's not the players' fault, it's the system. To close the gap, Bangladesh needs to develop quality first-class cricket at home,'' he said.

Chappell said Australia possessed the toughest domestic cricket league in the world and graduating from that competition to Test cricket was a relatively small transition. Australia is ranked No. 1 in Test and limited-overs cricket.

Chappell said he was disappointed that his two-year contract was cut in half. ``My contract was supposed to run until the 2003 World Cup,'' he said. ``It's difficult to achieve much in one year.''

The former Australian Test cricketer said he wasn't given a specific reason for his dismissal, although Bangladeshi authorities have openly expressed displeasure with his results.

Despite his winless record, Chappell said he was satisfied with the Bangladeshi squad's progress under his guidance.

``Bowling, fielding and running between wickets has improved,'' he said. ``Batsmen have a better idea about what they're trying to do, all they need is to put it into practice.''

He said Bangladesh possessed some talented players, but the country needed a strict development programme. ``Bangladesh needs to have a plan and stick to it,'' he said. ``They've got a good five-year plan on paper, but keep going off in different directions.''

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has a contract with the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide to send five players every year for training. ``Everybody loves cricket here and a lot of people actually play the game — it's a good career option now,'' Chappell said.

Cricket is the second most popular game after soccer in a nation of 130 million people.

Chappell, whose older brothers Ian and Greg both captained Australia, has taken a short-term coaching job with Dhaka's premier club — City Club.

``There's no contract. I'm just helping out to keep busy. I will talk to the club's officials about another season,'' he said. The domestic season finishes in May.

Chappell was Sri Lanka's fielding coach before he became Bangladesh's fourth coach in three years. Bangladesh's biggest win to date was a narrow win over former world champion Pakistan at the 1999 limited-overs World Cup, before it was granted Test status.

Its record since then is 11 Tests for 10 losses and a draw. In 50 limited-overs internationals, Bangladesh has recorded just three wins. — AP

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