September 27, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 14, 1428

DHAKA, Sept 26: Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful has expressed his requirement of a full-time coach before his team’s visit to New Zealand at the end of 2007.

“I feel we desperately need a permanent coach, whoever it may be, Shaun Williams or anyone else. There is a big difference between a permanent and temporary coach. You can’t expect teamwork with a temporary solution,” Ashraful told the Daily Star.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been seeking a national coach since Dav Whatmore refused a two-year contract extension after spending four years with the team. Interim coach Shaun Williams, who took over in June, was at the helm for a tour of Sri Lanka and the World Twenty20 in South Africa. Neither of the two tours was successful for Bangladesh and the strategies of the team management have been criticised, particularly after some chaotic batting in the Twenty20.

National selector and former captain Akram Khan, who was part of the team management during the last two trips, also stressed on the need of a full-time coach.

“I was only part of the selection process. I wasn’t involved in game planning,” he stated. “Actually, the captain and coach have the big role behind the planning. What I want to say is that we should have come out from the short-term solution immediately about the coach.”

However, he expressed his satisfaction over the Twenty20 performance.

“I think our performance was not bad because we fulfilled our target but the problem is that we were not consistent enough in any form of the game,” he said. “What I felt was that our team couldn’t play their natural game with the expectations getting higher.”

Chief selector Rafiqul Alam also believed that the team needs a permanent coach.

“A permanent coach is a very important part but as well as that, we have to find the right man for the job and in that case you have to compromise on time,” he insisted.—Agencies