Bangladesh team to get a new batting coach

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is ready to appoint Mark O’Neill as the new batting coach of the national team. The Aussie cricketer will replace Thilan Samaraweera as his agreement with the team expired recently. It was largely being reported for a while now that the board and players were not happy with Samaraweera’s performance and contribution towards the national team.

Mark is an experienced campaigner as he has been with the New Zealand team in the past for a brief period. He has also worked with many County teams including the likes of New South Wales, Middlesex in the UK and South Australia. The former Aussie cricketer though highly regarded for his coaching credentials did not play a single game for the national team.

Lower-order batsman need some improvement

The Bangladesh team has shown major improvement in their performances since the World Cup 2015. They have fought with pride and honour in the past few years. The Tigers reached the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2017 in England and Wales. The introduction of a new batting coach is expected to help the boys and improve the contribution of the lower order with the bat.

“O’Neill will come and BCB will have a talk to him. The contract with him will be done after the meeting,” said Akram Khan, the Chairman of the BCB’s Operations Committee. He will mainly work the lower-order’s batsmen,” he added.

Thilan Samaraweera’s stint

The right-hander joined the Bangladeshi team ahead of the Afghanistan series for a stint that was initially to run until the end England series in 2016. But his contract was extended and he was a part of the coaching staff for the tours of New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Ireland and England for the Champions Trophy 2017. As the board and the players were not satisfied with the former Sri Lankan batsman’s contribution, they decided to end the association.