A Lunch with Coach Richard McInnis

[Zunaid]

I had been in communication with Richard McInnis since his return to Bangladesh and was in the process of initiating an interview for BanglaCricket. As I was going to be in Dhaka, I thought I should try to set see if I could do the interview face to face. I then realized that it might be better to start with an informal chat, getting Richard to know more intimately BanglaCricket and its members and for us to open up a friendly long-term channel of communication. Richard is with us for the long haul.

We were initially chatting about having coffee and had arranged to meet at North End Coffee at Baridhara but then I decided to see if we could meet for lunch, as that would allow us more time to chat. Richard readily agreed and suggested the recently opened crepe place Crepe-au-Lait in Gulshan 2. He had not been there before but had heard good things about it. And so it was decided.

I had also asked RabZ and SNR to join us for lunch. Richard was going to finish his training session by 12/12:30 and so would reach the restaurant from Mirpur around 1:30 or so. RabZ picked me up from my office and we headed to the restaurant. The restaurant was set back at the end of Road 58, shares the house with several other restaurants, and specialize grocery, the London Sausage House.

The restaurant itself was on the small side with perhaps about 20 tables. The kitchen was visible to all patrons begin glass windows and we could see the kitchen staff work on their orders. I was starving and so Rabz and I decided to split a crepe while we waited for the others to arrive. We chose the roast beef crepe and it was outstandingly good. Very authentic and both the roast beef and cheese of the highest quality. Sohel arrive soon after and we waited for Richard to join us.

And soon he did. We made the obligatory introductions and sat down to our chat. It has been quite a few days since and my memory is starting to get fuzzy. We did talk about a wide array of things and I would like RabZ and Sohel to chime in and add to this story.

One of the first things we asked him was what did see different from his last stint in Bangladesh. That brought a wry smile to his face and he said “two things”. We have a new building and the technique of players is slightly better.

We spoke about why our players seem to be stuck on a plateau and what he looks for in player. Richard spoke about character and the ability to learn. You have to want to win and you have to be able to learn. Shakib was discussed obviously as the one who has this immense desire to win and no prizes as to whom we touched upon as not having the ability to learn.

We spoke about his current training initiatives, a day in the life of Richard. We talked about selectors and selectoral qualifications and interference. We spoke about the board. We spoke about the other Richard and the board. Incidentally, the two Richards work well together and have the same philosophy – tough love. We spoke about many of the players he has personally worked with. I will let the others chime in and add details.

I did ask him what brought him back. He said, because he wanted to make a difference.

And with that, I stop for now and let the others fill in more.

More Pictures













Pictures taken by RabZ

[MohammedC]

Thank you Dr Z for sharing

[Maysun]

Thank you for sharing!

[Zunaid]

I've only touched on the surface of our conversation. I'm hoping to have Rabz and Sohel chime in too.

[kalpurush]

WOW! Rajokio bepar-shepar dekhi!!

Love the restaurant - nice decor and have a rich look! How was the food?
Nice write-ups as well.

Thanks for sharing Zunaid bhai

[roman]

Thank you so much for sharing Boss. Classy restaurant. Can't wait for Rabz and Sohel bhai's posts...

[zinatf]

Finally! Thanks for sharing with us Zunaid bhai as for the others, waiting on their take!

My my! Richard's cute! Too ba he's older and married with 2 kids

[iDumb]

Originally Posted by zinatf
Finally! Thanks for sharing with us Zunaid bhai as for the others, waiting on their take!

My my! Richard's cute! Too ba he's older and married with 2 kids

and??????

i dnt know how his wife let this guy roam around in dhaka...lol...need to be really strong and secured minded...

[firstlane]

The place looks nice. Looks like you had a good time. Thanks for sharing the photos.

[AsifTheManRahman]

I was getting disappointed scrolling down until I reached the last picture in the OP and caught a glimpse of the beef crepes.

Coach, please please please beat our sissy bunch up into men. If Nazimuddin still whines about ice baths in what is considered T-shirt weather in many countries, please don't let him get anywhere near the national, A, academy or U19 teams. You have to do this coach, we can't keep losing to Turkmenistan, Luxembourg and Congo second XI everyday. And if you can't get through to these idiots, no one can. If you can't then it pretty much is the end of the dark tunnel for us, the bottom of the bottomless pit, the setting of the sun, 21122012, time to go play danguli with 3 year olds.

35 year old Jahurul Islam (not to confuse with the cricketer, although his real age could be 35 too, who knows?) had nothing to do but bury his face in his palms in shame when one day, at the SBNS, his four year old son Samir (not to confuse with the Chittagong Kings owner, and no, he definitely isn't 4) asked, "Baba, why does Ashraful play juicy half volleys to the hands of cover when even I know how to keep it on the ground? Does he have a learning disability?" This is not the nation Jahirul had dreamt of building for his son. This is not the nation that his forefathers had fought hard for. He now has no option but to send his son to Australia for good, where he is guaranteed to have a better life, devoid of cricketing disappointments. Jahirul might be the father, but I think even I shed a tear that day at the prospect of the breakage of a father-son relationship.

When her high school sports teacher Abul Mokhles pulled one with all his might, 14 year old Fatema Banu flew six feet to her right to catch it in the air with her wrong hand. After the game, she approached her coach with "If I can take that, why does Abul Hassan miss a dolly?"

The question rendered Mokhles speechless, because at the end of the day, being an Abul himself, he couldn't keep the ball on the ground like 4 year old Samir Islam does in his sleep.

Coach, it's getting beyond painful watching these Ashrafuls, Abuls, Nazimuddins, Nafeeses and Mofeezes submit to the Bangkok Retirees XI on every foreign tour. Please coach, bring in the Samir Islams and Fatema Banus, I'm sure there are plenty in a population of (unofficially but realistically) 200 million. Please coach, save our buttocks, because when teams ranked lower than us give us regular wedgies on the cricket pitch, the word humiliation just doesn't cut it. I mean for the fans, I'm sure the players have no shame, at least they don't seem to, except for Shakib.

Coach, when it comes to cricket in Bangladesh, you are God. And if God can't help us, then it's safe to say the devil has taken over. As Leo DiCaprio once said of South Africa in the movie Blood Diamond, "God left this place a long time ago". Please don't let us become DiCaprio's South Africa, coach.

[AbuDarda]

Originally Posted by asifthemanrahman
i was getting disappointed scrolling down until i reached the last picture in the op and caught a glimpse of the beef crepes.

Coach, please please please beat our sissy bunch up into men. If nazimuddin still whines about ice baths in what is considered t-shirt weather in many countries, please don't let him get anywhere near the national, a, academy or u19 teams. You have to do this coach, we can't keep losing to turkmenistan, luxembourg and congo second xi everyday. And if you can't get through to these idiots, no one can. If you can't then it pretty much is the end of the dark tunnel for us, the bottom of the bottomless pit, the setting of the sun, 21122012, time to go play danguli with 3 year olds.

35 year old jahurul islam (not to confuse with the cricketer, although his real age could be 35 too, who knows?) had nothing to do but bury his face in his palms in shame when one day, at the sbns, his four year old son samir (not to confuse with the chittagong kings owner, and no, he definitely isn't 4) asked, "baba, why does ashraful play juicy half volleys to the hands of cover when even i know how to keep it on the ground? Does he have a learning disability?" this is not the nation jahirul had dreamt of building for his son. This is not the nation that his forefathers had fought hard for. He now has no option but to send his son to australia for good, where he is guaranteed to have a better life, devoid of cricketing disappointments. Jahirul might be the father, but i think even i shed a tear that day at the prospect of the breakage of a father-son relationship.

When her high school sports teacher abul mokhles pulled one with all his might, 14 year old fatema banu flew six feet to her right to catch it in the air with her wrong hand. After the game, she approached her coach with "if i can take that, why does abul hassan miss a dolly?"

the question rendered mokhles speechless, because at the end of the day, being an abul himself, he couldn't keep the ball on the ground like 4 year old samir islam does in his sleep.

Coach, it's getting beyond painful watching these ashrafuls, abuls, nazimuddins, nafeeses and mofeezes submit to the bangkok retirees xi on every foreign tour. Please coach, bring in the samir islams and fatema banus, i'm sure there are plenty in a population of (unofficially but realistically) 200 million. Please coach, save our buttocks, because when teams ranked lower than us give us regular wedgies on the cricket pitch, the word humiliation just doesn't cut it. I mean for the fans, i'm sure the players have no shame, at least they don't seem to, except for shakib.

Coach, when it comes to cricket in bangladesh, you are god. And if god can't help us, then it's safe to say the devil has taken over. As leo dicaprio once said of south africa in the movie blood diamond, "god left this place a long time ago". Please don't let us become dicaprio's south africa, coach.

হতাশার চুড়ান্ত অভিব্যক্তি!!! হোয়াট আ এলিজি!

[MohammedC]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
I was getting disappointed scrolling down until I reached the last picture in the OP and caught a glimpse of the beef crepes.

Then ATMR was like after little while realised he was dreaming and he started to cry.

[i_1_primeval_man]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
I was getting disappointed scrolling down until I reached the last picture in the OP and caught a glimpse of the beef crepes.

Coach, please please please beat our sissy bunch up into men. If Nazimuddin still whines about ice baths in what is considered T-shirt weather in many countries, please don't let him get anywhere near the national, A, academy or U19 teams. You have to do this coach, we can't keep losing to Turkmenistan, Luxembourg and Congo second XI everyday. And if you can't get through to these idiots, no one can. If you can't then it pretty much is the end of the dark tunnel for us, the bottom of the bottomless pit, the setting of the sun, 21122012, time to go play danguli with 3 year olds.

35 year old Jahurul Islam (not to confuse with the cricketer, although his real age could be 35 too, who knows?) had nothing to do but bury his face in his palms in shame when one day, at the SBNS, his four year old son Samir (not to confuse with the Chittagong Kings owner, and no, he definitely isn't 4) asked, "Baba, why does Ashraful play juicy half volleys to the hands of cover when even I know how to keep it on the ground? Does he have a learning disability?" This is not the nation Jahirul had dreamt of building for his son. This is not the nation that his forefathers had fought hard for. He now has no option but to send his son to Australia for good, where he is guaranteed to have a better life, devoid of cricketing disappointments. Jahirul might be the father, but I think even I shed a tear that day at the prospect of the breakage of a father-son relationship.

When her high school sports teacher Abul Mokhles pulled one with all his might, 14 year old Fatema Banu flew six feet to her right to catch it in the air with her wrong hand. After the game, she approached her coach with "If I can take that, why does Abul Hassan miss a dolly?"

The question rendered Mokhles speechless, because at the end of the day, being an Abul himself, he couldn't keep the ball on the ground like 4 year old Samir Islam does in his sleep.

Coach, it's getting beyond painful watching these Ashrafuls, Abuls, Nazimuddins, Nafeeses and Mofeezes submit to the Bangkok Retirees XI on every foreign tour. Please coach, bring in the Samir Islams and Fatema Banus, I'm sure there are plenty in a population of (unofficially but realistically) 200 million. Please coach, save our buttocks, because when teams ranked lower than us give us regular wedgies on the cricket pitch, the word humiliation just doesn't cut it. I mean for the fans, I'm sure the players have no shame, at least they don't seem to, except for Shakib.

Coach, when it comes to cricket in Bangladesh, you are God. And if God can't help us, then it's safe to say the devil has taken over. As Leo DiCaprio once said of South Africa in the movie Blood Diamond, "God left this place a long time ago". Please don't let us become DiCaprio's South Africa, coach.

You've a very bright future in satirical writing and 'roummo rochona', I'm telling you ATMR.
And it's great to see the coach with BC crew. Thanks for sharing. I'm also happy that RM sees some potential in Taskin. We desperately need some good fast bowling prospects.

[kalpurush]

^^^ Asif, hotash hoyen na!

We just need one good Boss, everything will fall in place, inshAllah.

[PoorFan]

Never thought we have twins in BC! The restaurant looks good, wish to be there someday. And from McInnis ... we desperately want result, result ASAP, no lengthy talk gonna save BD cricket, need result, and needed yesterday.

[BrianLara7]

No offense but who is who I cant really tell. In the first picture can you tell me what's the name of the 4 people?

[Dilscoop]

^ Why 4? Isn't R McInnis a gimme?

[firstlane]

^ Seriously? All four? Have you read the posts at all? if you did you would at least know one of them is Richard McINNES.

edit: Ah! Dilu beat me.

[cricman]

From left to right

Rabz, Coach, Sohel and Doc Z

[Miraz]

Thanks Zunaid bhai for sharing.

[MarufH]

@Sohle bhai: I love Sohel Bhais look. You are the new BOSS. Lol

@Observer: Thanks for giving BC time. Would you please chime in, too?

@Dr. Z: Tremendous work, thanks!

@Rabz orfe Sydney bhai... I cant wait to hear your masterpiece.

[Ajfar]

Sohel bhai be always rocking this 'khandani' swag.

[BengaliPagol]

all this class & swag is making my head dizzy.

[Zeeshan]

I was starving and so Rabz and I decided to split a crepe while we waited for the others to arrive.

You guys kidding me? You are all like super millionaire with voracious appetite and you "split" a crepe?!!?!? That's like Steve Jobes and Bill Gates meeting up for lunch and having to share a samosa... Sheesh. :p

Edit: That was brilliant post Atimar bhai.

[MohammedC]

Originally Posted by Zeeshan
You guys kidding me? You are all like super millionaire with voracious appetite and you "split" a crepe?!!?!? That's like Steve Jobes and Bill Gates meeting up for lunch and having to share a samosa... Sheesh. :p

This is the post of this thread.