As a spectator watching on the TV screen the Bangladesh -England-A cricket matches, here are some observations from a non-expert.

—- There is more to batting than trying to defend, and trying to score. Forget the word trying’ (the masters don’t try). Be effortless — what is to be done is carried out effortlessly, intuitively, with minimum energy. That's how Lara scored a hundred in 45 balls. In other words, the reflex action has to be developed through practice, practice, and practice.

— The batsmen must learn to push and lob the ball into the gaps and steal singles (in this case stealing is not an offence!). That means controlled and directional batting. The batting techniques have to be finetuned. Thus many singles did not materialise, arid England-A won the first one-day match in the very last over.

— There is a tendency and temptation to nibble outside the off stump, a basic and elementary fault, which is normally corrected and controlled during the first phase of training, otherwise it becomes a subconscious reaction and a bad habit. The temptation to hook aimlessly has to be curbed: try low-profile hooking the ball on the ground). Habits, once developed. are difficult to eradicate. Hence the initial coaching has to be critical. But we have no coaching network in the schools for the young upcoming cricketers!

— The footwork of most of the batsmen are poor. Playing on the front foot .is a difficult art — first the science has to be learnt. Going back on the back foot is a natural defensive reaction. Offensive batting (when required) has to be planned, 'learnt, and practised (without getting caught). There is the story about Peter May. the former English stroke player, who pracUsed the cover drive at the net for hundreds of hours, even after selection in the England national team. It is too early (in the history of Bangladeshi cricket) to have dedicated cricketers which lead to specialisation. There is no short cut to success (in any profession). The play must be of professional standard.

— We lack bowlers who have penetration, hostility and guile (slow, medium or fast): apart from mere direcUon and length. We have to scout for a couple of genuine fast bowlers, who could be groomed over the years.

— How good is the Talent-hunting Network (not individuals. but network)? Cricket in Chittagong suffered during the construction of the stadium. Is there any official project to develop the sports goods industry?

— The bowlers must be innovative in the field, and be able to change tactics as and when required, depending on the strategy of the moment. Deception during the flight of the ball has to be cultivated. What happens after then ball pitches has also to be fine-controlled. Variations in bowling technique take years.

— All bowlers must be able to _ bowl to the field set. or chang-’ ing field: otherwise should not expect to be selected in the national team.

— Few fielders throw the ball under-arm to the wicket keeper (short to medium distances), in a flat trajectory (for faster trip time — sling action); to ensure higher run-outs. However, it is encouraging to find that our boys are learning to dive to stop the speeding ball. An appeal to the ground staff: please ensure that small pebbles and hard particles are removed so that our sonar maati won’t hurt our golden boys. Another good point: the standard and upkeep of our cricket pitches have been praised by the visiting teams. The trade secrets have to be learned practically (on-the-)ob training).

— Tnere is a long-term project: re-levelling of the ground (Dhaka stadium) for the quick drainage of rain waters. Nowadays cricket is played round the year: hence a gap of a few weeks is necessary for this groundsloping project. The ground, will dry quicker, and the usability factor will increase.

— The TV commentators have to note that a certain percentage of the viewers are changing (coming and going) all the time, so recapitulations have to be announced at more frequent intervals. Another nuisance is that the advertisers want to seize every second of time for the commercials, leaving less time for display of data and statistics at reasonable intervals (strengthen the data base). Several grades of cameras are used, affecting quality con-but the learning curve is .not short. For wireless transmissions of the signals, it is hoped that the frequencies used are suitable for tropical countries.