So, the Jamie Siddons era ends in Bangladesh
cricket. It wasn’t easy when he took over the job from Dav Whatmore in 2007;
indeed, it’s been the toughest for a new coach with a multitude of tough
challenges.
The first challenge for Siddons was the ICL saga. In 2008
many of the Bangladesh ’s
talented cricketers and seasoned players fled to play the ICL league, which
wasn’t granted official status by the BCCI. This led to the axing of superstars
like Shahriar Nafees, Alok Kapali, Aftab Ahmed and Habibul Bashar. Bangladesh
cricket team was almost empty then.
Siddons had to rebuild a side without many of the key
players. He went on to create a team which went on to win a Test and ODI series
during his four-year reign as coach. He improvised with his approach, rotated
the players, backed the talent and established work ethics which the players
adhered to.
The next challenge for him was Mohamad Ashraful. As a true
professional he was always there to back the player. But, sadly, Ashraful did
not heed what the coach told him. Ashraful’s job was to bat and utilize his
talents to its greatest extent. That was what Siddons wanted. But Ashraful
wanted to become an all-rounder! His focus suffered, and so did his batting.
As a captain, Ashraful was never comfortable and he was naïve
in dealing with the pressures of captaincy. Ashraful got full support of
Siddons, but he wasn’t in the mood to listen to Siddons. After the disastrous 2009
T20 World Cup the Ashraful and Siddons fell apart.
The post-Ashraful era had been a golden run for Bangladesh
cricket. Siddons was able to get the players to adhere to his work ethics. With
the dynamic Shakib Al Hasan as the captain, Siddons was able to manage things
well. The team did well with an
increasing number of quality performers.
His greatest achievement was surely the clean sweep over the
Kiwis. Before the start of the series, Siddons arranged a training camp and
made all the player work hard and made them believe that they can beat any team
in the world. His motivation paid off.
People accused him for not being supportive towards few
players. He was quiet, reluctant towards those who fled for the ICL. His
association with Ashraful suffered during the later half of his coaching stint
and it was obvious. No teacher would like to pay attention to those students
who are reluctant to hear the teacher’s advice. A teacher sometimes ignores his
student to light the fire inside him. But it’s up to the student to understand
the motive of the teacher. Siddons wanted some of the players to bring out
their best by overlooking or ignoring them.
He did not allow Nafees and Ashraful to have a net session
with the regular players before the World Cup. But Nafees had been positive
with everything and he didn’t allow his head to drop. The result: Nafees is
back in the side and reaping the goods with the bat. Ashraful, on the other
hand, failed to utilize the opportunity.
There had been accusations that Siddons was not supportive
towards Mashrafe Mortaza. I think that perception is wrong as he always wanted
a fit Mortaza. Maybe his approach was not that good enough to deal with the
Mortaza. The selectors axed Mortaza, not Siddons. To blame Siddons for that is
unfair.
At present his coaching is being judged by the results of
the World Cup 2011. To me it would be unfair as I just can’t blame Siddons for Bangladesh
skittled out for 58 and 78. Siddons gave his best for Bangladesh ,
but in crunch games, Bangladesh
imploded. The fault lay in Bangladesh ’s
approach and not the coach.
I am the one who prefers to look at the silver lining behind
the dark clouds. Siddon’s journey with Bangladesh
had been a story of mixed emotions. It had tested Bangladesh ’s
patience, but it had also given them the moments to cherish. In the end,
Siddons has given Bangladesh
seeds that can be harvested for a good morrow, if handled with maturity.
“If these boys are allowed to grow together for another four
years to the next World Cup, you’re going to have a lot of good fun and a lot
of joy,” Siddons said. “We’ve had a lot of joy with the New
Zealand victories and World Cup victories
against England
and Ireland . We’ve
smashed Zimbabwe
the last four series, had a lot of success, and it’s all these guys. They’re
the best 15.
“There might be one or two coming in and out because of form
or injury, but you’ve got to stick with them, and you’ve got to trust them and
stop being negative when they fail – they’re 23, 22 years old. There are no 33,
34, 36-year-old Ricky Pontings or Kumar Sangakkaras to hold them together yet. You’ve
got to give them a chance to develop. You can’t bring back Habibul Bashar and ask
him to be Ricky Ponting, because he’s not. You’ve got to let them develop.”
Yes, we understood you Siddons. But, above all, the BCB
bosses must understand your words.
Goodbye, Siddons.
Note: This article has been published in Cricket Country on
15/04/ 2011 http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/jamie-siddons-bids-adieu-to-bangladesh-cricket-with-bitter-sweet-memories-1924
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
No comments:
Post a Comment