My job is always to bring best out of players, to be consistent and get better in each game: Shane Bond

Abu Dhabi, 31 January, 2023: MI Emirates head coach Shane Bond is happy that his philosophy of coaching is working well for the team, which is set to take the positives from Sunday night’s convincing victory to their next match against the Gulf Giants in Abu Dhabi on 1st February, 2023, Wednesday.

The MI Emirates recorded a brilliant 157-run win over Desert Vipers on Sunday, to find themselves leading the stats board on the highest margin of victory by runs. Appreciating the effort of the boys, Bond said they need to play with the same amount of consistency in the remaining three games to stay in the hunt for the title race.

“It was a great performance against Desert Vipers, and especially from the start of the tournament I have been mentioning that the team is capable of winning the tournament. We just need to turn up the heat, and win the big moments, make some good decisions and execute them. We played the top team, put in our best performance, and we are playing the team second on the competition list next, and then if we win that game, we are decently in for a top-2 finish,” Bond said.

Elaborating on his philosophy of coaching, the 47-year-old Kiwi said he always tries to bring the best out of his players besides trying to get an honest feedback from the players regarding his style of coaching.

“My job is always to bring the best out of the players, to be consistent and get better in each game. Those things never change, and has remained the same from Day 1. In terms of the players, the hardest thing for them is to get an honest feedback. It can be tough for a coach, so, the only way to get better as a coach is to go to the players during any competition and get the conversation started on what I can do to get better,” he said.

Heaping praises on MI Emirates skipper Kieron Pollard, who has been in red-hot form with the bat throughout the tournament, Bond said the best part about having someone like Pollard as the leader of the side is he also understands the role of a coach as the Trinidadian is on a transition phase.

“Playing and coaching is very different. The playing career behind you gives you a level of respect from the younger players of the kind of player you have been but as a coach my job is to make my player a better.”

“It’s no more about me but about how you get the best out of your player. You have Dwayne (Bravo) and (Kieron) Pollard, who are in the phase of transition and they understand their roles clearly. Polly has played a massive part in the team’s success,” he reckoned.

Bond is also happy to see the talent pool in associate nations is growing, thanks to such T20 leagues, and as a result the associate nations have been able to create major upsets at the World Cup.

“This tournament is great with the Associate and local players getting to play a part in it. Being part of the squads, so you are getting to build the depth of those small nations,” he said.

“We have got four very good players who have been well in franchise cricket. Muhammed Waseem is a very good player, Zahoor Khan, who’s been a mainstay of the UAE national team, and he is bowling well for us. We’re lucky to have Robin Singh, who works with the UAE team, and has that relationship that makes it easier for us. It’s great for them to get the opportunity to bat alongside a Kieron Pollard or a Nicholas Pooran, or opening the bowling with a Trent Boult,” Bond said before signing off.

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