Former Tigers head coach Stuart Law returned to Dhaka last Monday night to take up the role of technical advisor of the Bangladesh Under-19 cricket team.
The former Australia cricketer was previously the head coach of Bangladesh but resigned within 10 months in the job. During his brief tenure, Bangladesh reached the final of the 2012 Asia Cup at home.
Law, a former middle order batsman, will prepare the junior Tigers for the upcoming 11th edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup, scheduled to be hosted by Bangladesh next February.
“I am looking forward to the opportunity of being involved in a programme from which future Bangladesh players are coming from. It has been really exciting to see the way Bangladesh have been playing cricket since the [2015 ICC] World Cup. I am sure the young fellas will like to emulate their heroes at their level as well. I am very privileged and very happy to be a part of them,” the 46-year old Law told the media yesterday.
Following his resignation as the Bangladesh head coach in 2012, Law was appointed High Performance Coach of Australia’s Centre of Excellence. He later took charge of the Australian U19s in the same year and guided his charges to a runners-up place in the ninth edition of the U-19 World Cup. Law was also the batting consultant of Australia for a brief period.
Law informed that dealing with the Bangladesh U-19 cricketers will be a challenge as they are yet to be physically matured. The Queensland native however, believes the journey will be made easy, given his charges’ impressive run of results in recent times. Bangladesh defeated their South African counterparts, who are the defending champions, 5-2 and 6-1 in July and April this year.
“You need to be having fun to play the best cricket. It takes some hard work but I am sure the young fellows will really enjoy the work they have been doing. I have been informed that the work they have been doing recently has been very high standard. I am looking forward to see them play in the cricket ground. Nets are there for times when you can’t play and the young fellows don’t need to spend too much time in the nets. The only place to get better is in the middle,” Law explained.
The former Tigers head coach informed that he has kept track of Bangladesh and is impressed at the way things have progressed.
“I watched them pretty closely, particularly during the World Cup. I have been following the team’s progress as much as I can and passing on congratulations to some of the players on Facebook. It has been really pleasing to watch them,” he added.