Home ›› 07 Mar 2022 ›› Sport
Bangladesh national team’s newly appointed fielding coach Shane McDermott said that he wants to improve the standard of fielding on the international stage in the coming days.
He is also very eager to work with the cricketers like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah again in his new role.
Fielding has been an area of concern for the Tigers for a long time and in the series against Afghanistan the cricketers did horrible in fielding which left the head coach Russel Domingo clueless,
“We have dropped nine catches in the last five matches. If I knew what it was, probably we would be doing it. It could be concentration things, a confidence thing or dealing with pressure, I am not sure. We just got to make sure that we must try and improve because we make too many mistakes in the field that cost us. Cost us in the World Cup, cost us here. Cost us in Test matches, just too many dropped catches”, the head coach told in the press conference after the match on Saturday.
Within a few hours after that comment from Domingo, the BCB revealed the name of the new fielding coach.
McDermott is an Australian, who worked as the National Academy Head Coach, National Team Fielding Coach, and High-Performance Fitness Coordinator between 2006 and 2008.
He was the Sri Lanka team’s fielding coach and Sri Lanka A side’s head coach. He has also worked with the Australia senior team as its interim assistant coach and fielding coach. In his professional career, he has been involved in various coaching capacities with Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, and Cricket Tasmania.
After Ryan Cook left, the position was filled in by Mizanur Rahman Babul and Rajin Saleh as interim replacements but finally the BCB put their faith in someone who proved his merit internationally.
Regarding his new role in the Bangladesh cricket team, the Australian said in a video message, `It’s a really great feeling to able to come back to the place where I’ve worked before in 2006-08 in the academy, the A-team and the national team and to be back with Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah and the boys’, he said on Sunday.
McDermott is also very excited to work along with Jamie Siddons, current batting coach of the Bangladesh national team, and Alan Donald, newly appointed pace bowling coach,
` It is also great to be able to work with a great group of coaching staff that includes Russel Domingo, Jamie Siddons, and Allan Donald.I think the cricket board has done an exceptional job to put together a great team that will lead the players into the coming T20 World Cup in Australia and the World Cup in India in 2023’, he told the media.
McDermott also expressed his hope to make Bangladesh a better fielding side, `I hope I can make sure that as a fielding unit we can give our best effort on the field. We understand that fielding can often be the factor that helps to win or lose matches and my goal is to make sure that we win more than we lose. I look forward to joining the team soon, said the Australian.
Bangladesh has been one of the worst fielding sides in 2021, throughout the year Bangladesh dropped 47 catches in 33 matches and their poor fielding also continued in the Afghanistan series as well.
McDermott’s present contract will run-up to the end of November 2023. McDermott will join the South Africa-bound squad in Dhaka this week.