Memo to the team
After watching the warm up games here is my summarization/recommendations for the team:
• We will be lucky to win beyond IRELAND. Now luck favors the brave but the courage seems to be lacking beyond Shakib and Riyad.
• Having said the above, we still have a reasonable shot at the Semis. Our 2nd round will be Pakistan (could be rusty from lack of cricket), SL & NZ (We seem to have been giving them headaches in recent times) and possibly WI instead of SL (whom we beat in the last world cup). 2 wins out of 3 in that situation is not unreasonable
• Mash has lost all confidence. He needs to clear his mind of the IPL drama, that nightmare of an over and focus anew. Keep him away from the death for now. Rubel has the Yorkers (not the best by other standards but the best we got).
• Shakib is THE MAN. He can give Gayle a run for his money on the ‘Mr. Cool’ factor. He needs to take more of a leadership and motivational role on the field
• Let Ash open with TI. He’s having to come in within the first 3 overs anyways. Or bring in Roqibul to open. If he’s going to anchor at a 90 strike rate, let him support the big hitters.
• When a bowler is performing keep him on. Ash is always thinking of the death overs and who to hold back. Every time Shakib picks up a wicket or bowls an economical over, he is pulled away for later. I would rather keep the pressure on and make the batsmen have to take 12+ runs off of Mash or Rubel towards the end instead of putting the pressure on the bowlers to contain at 9 or 10.
• Singles, Singles, Singles!!! Six singles in an over is better than blindly slogging to give away 4 dots, a four and then your wicket
• Got to improve on the fielding. We don’t have the luxury of a bowling unit to compensate for missed run outs, dropped catches or misfielded extra runs
• Experiment with the spinners. Look at Kumble and Pieterson gambling in the IPL by bringing themselves on in the 1st over and delivering key wickets. The openers are used to the pace ball that they can just guide. You throw in spin and all of a sudden they need slog from the get go. Jayasuriya bowled the last over today. Trust our spinners. Besides Shakib and Naeem, use Riyad and Ash. (Drop Razzak for now)
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