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Taskin must ‘bombard’ Donald with questions, says Cork
Dominic Cork is currently in the commentary panel for the ongoing bilateral white-ball series between hosts Bangladesh and England. In an exclusive interview with Mazhar Uddin of The Daily Star , Cork shared his observation on Bangladesh cricket, spoke about the Tigers quicks’ scope for improvements, among other things. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:
The Daily Star (DS): Bangladesh cricket is nearing a transition period as experienced players like Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah Riyad will most likely be playing their last ODI World Cup this year. What should be the approach for Bangladesh cricket in moving forward?
Dominic Cork (DC): Bangladesh should be investing in their younger players now. It’s important they practice and play under intense pressure and a level higher than normal. You will then see who will have a chance of replacing these senior players. Whoever the Under 19’s coach is, has a very important job.
DS: How should a pacer from the subcontinent cope with it since conditions and pitch are not ideal for seam bowling here?
DC: I’ve been surprised with how much pace and bounce there was in the Mirpur pitch. The pace bowlers have to find a way to move the ball. If that’s through swing, reverse swing, or variations. The fundamentals of bowling have never changed: a repeatable action with a skill to hit an area on the pitch consistently and a change-up delivery.
DS: What’s your take on Taskin Ahmed?
DC: Taskin is such a good bowler. He has good pace and a lovely action. He delivers the ball from a mid-crease area and creates an angle into the right-hander and is able to move the ball off the seam. I think he has the perfect bowling coach and mentor in Allan Donald. Taskin must bombard him with as many questions as possible.
One area I think he could slightly improve is bowling wide and straight yorkers. I understand it’s not easy to do at will but practice will help him when under pressure at the end of an innings.
DS: Has Mustafizur Rahman become too predictable?
DC: Mustafizur has obviously had success but is struggling a little bit at the moment. I’m sure AD (Allan Donald) is working with him on his wrist position.
His strength is that he’s a left-armer. Think of some of the best in the world at the moment -- Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mitchell Starc etc. -- what do they do well? They try and swing the ball early on and take wickets. I would try to change his role and ask him to take the new ball with Taskin and look to swing the ball and take wickets in the powerplay. Batters now use his quicker ball as a variation.
DS: England are well known for producing quality pacers. What is the process you follow back at home?
DC: In England we have 18 first class counties, which have a first team, second team academy, and age level teams. So a lot of cricketers and, more importantly for me, pace and swing bowlers coming through.
We have a system which from an early age teaches these bowlers the fundamentals of a strong action. Of course sometimes it doesn’t work out but these young players get all the information, fitness and technical advice which will help them in the future.
DS: How did England manage to adapt this attacking mindset across all formats that has paid rich dividends in recent times?
DC: England have been crying out for this positive approach. We have as a cricketing nation gone through years where players have had a fear of failure. A positive mindset is important for everyone, not just cricketers and sports people.
DS: What factors do you deem necessary for a country to have a prosperous cricketing culture like England?
DC: A strong domestic system is obviously the perfect springboard for the international side. Under-19 cricket is important, too... Pitches are really important in age-group cricket, leading into first class cricket. The coaches are important and I believe employing some senior successful players and coaches will help set this.