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Will the exit of CA’s team performance boss put an end to an era in which domestic cricket was subservient to the interests of the national team?

Daniel Brettig13-Nov-20182:04

Australian cricket’s house of cards

Pat Howard makes a final exit from his office at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane on Wednesday. It has been seven years and one month since he was unveiled as Cricket Australia’s general manager team performance, a period of enormous change for Australian cricket. Much of it has been driven by Howard, and not all of it has been taken to kindly.Part of the reason Howard gained a week more than his fellow executive Ben Amarfio was to undertake a brief handover period with his interim replacement, the game development executive Belinda Clark, who is widely understood to prefer only to keep the seat warm until a longer-term replacement is hired. Numerous names have already been touted, among the most credible including the Western Australia high performance manager Ben Oliver and the former Sydney Sixers general manager and now NSWRL executive Stuart Clark.In assessing who should replace Howard and how they should do so, it must be noted that those who created his role description never intended Howard’s brief to be as broad as it became. These creators were the panel – chairman Don Argus, Malcolm Speed, Steve Waugh, Allan Border and Mark Taylor – who penned the Australian team performance review in 2011, long since referred to by the surname of the chairman and former BHP supremo Argus.While the review made a big deal of creating Howard’s position as a “single point of accountability for team performance” and duly “devolving” accountability to the chief executive above him and the captain and coach of the Australian team beneath him, its pages also made a strong case for keeping the role as focused as possible. “The GM Team Performance will (obviously) focus solely on team performance, with accountability increased accordingly,” it read.Less understood at the time of the review’s release, nor in the months and years that followed, was how many other functions of cricket in Australia were meant to be retained by the general manager cricket operations, a role filled at the time by Michael Brown, and subsequently by Geoff Allardice. Critically, the review did not indicate any hierarchy where one general manager was to be more senior than the other, simply recommending that the GM cricket position “be split in two”.”This role is different to the current GM Cricket role in that it is singularly focused on team performance,” the report stated, “rather than the numerous operational responsibilities the GM Cricket must also attend to, for example competition management, umpiring, programming, security, anticorruption, team logistics, industrial relations, the COE redevelopment, operations budget management etc.”The GM Team Performance role will have a strong emphasis on: People selection, development and performance management; Execution of agreed plans in coaching, team leadership, culture and selection; Development and execution of the elite cricket pillar of CA‟s Strategy for Australian Cricket. This includes linking with the Centre of Excellence and the States’ High Performance programs.”When Howard’s appointment was announced on October 13, 2011, in Melbourne, he duly became part of CA’s senior management team under the overall leadership of the CEO James Sutherland. But it was only a matter of months before Howard was doing more than the Argus panel had envisaged – his role in 2012’s MoU negotiations was an early sign of mission creep.Pat Howard looks on during training•Getty ImagesHis elevation, and the elevation of team performance in general, was not to take place until a far lower profile corporate restructure in May 2012. It was authored, chiefly, by CA’s inaugural “head of people and culture”, Marianne Roux, who devised an additional layer of executive management that reported directly to Sutherland and took on a more “strategic” brief with an outlook of between two and five years, while other senior management were relegated to “operational” tasks that lay between six and 24 months ahead of the governing body.While Brown, criticised in the players’ submission to the Argus review panel having held his role since 2002, had decided to exit at the end of the 2011-12 home season, the shuffling of Allardice and cricket operations into a role subservient to Howard as the executive team performance “strategist” raised plenty of internal eyebrows. It was only a matter of months before Allardice departed CA to take on the role of general manager of cricket at the ICC, a position he still holds.The message of this restructure, placing Howard’s search for a winning national team above CA’s most fundamental role as the organisers and administrators of the game down under, was a powerful one. It meant that each of Allardice’s successors, Sean Cary and Peter Roach, were left largely to carry out the instructions of Howard, with most considerations divided into either “team performance pathway” or “fan-facing” categories. In the case of the state competitions, this meant that 50-over and first-class tournaments that had long since ceased to be profitable of themselves became increasingly subject to micromanagement.As Dr Simon Longstaff wrote in the Ethics Centre’s independent review of CA: “Unfortunately, the focus on winning and the success of the Australian Men’s Team has pushed the rest of Australian cricket into a subservient role. For example, that national HPU has been given virtual carte blanche in its quest to produce a winning national team. For example, the sensibilities of Sheffield Shield teams can be overridden – with State players edged out of their places in a Shield side (sometimes for just an innings) to give an Australian player a brief outing – not for the benefit of the Shield side but for that of the national team.”This kind of behaviour speaks of gross disrespect to those who are not natives of the ‘gilded bubble’. It sets an example in which the ends appear to justify the means. It invites the development of a culture of exceptionalism in which the normal standards of decency do not apply. Those living within the ‘gilded bubble’ would probably be horrified to realise that this is how their conduct is experienced and judged. They might assume that others understand that none of it is meant to be ‘personal’, that all is done in the service of a greater good – the success of cricket as a whole.”That is the tragic circumstance of those who live within the bubble. They are blinded by their noble intentions. They are desensitised by the logic of their arguments and the science that informs their practices. They believe that they are the clear-eyed realists and that others are deluded. They just cannot see the unintended effects of what they do – yet for which they are ultimately responsible.”

[…] it may be time to flip team performance and cricket operations, so that the ranking officer for the running of the Sheffield Shield and domestic limited-overs tournament has a wider responsibility than simply to pursue a winning national team. Such a change would help encourage robust, independent club and first-class competition, the better to school players not only in terms of performance but also the spirit of cricket.

Howard’s industry, passion and energy can never be questioned. Nor his willingness to debate his ideas fully and frankly. But the combination of his rugby background, his forceful personality and the enormous power ultimately invested in his role made it increasingly difficult for others to push back at him – a feeling especially prominent and recurring among the state associations who resented the notion that their teams and players were becoming little more than a farm system for the national team. Australia’s international sides will always be a representative collective rather than a club team.”Many of the people interviewed wonder if a day will ever come again when an Australian Test Cricketer plays four or five Sheffield Shield matches – and even a couple of Grade games – as did the likes of Allan Border when captaining Australia,” Longstaff wrote. “Might that kind of connection help elite players to keep their bearings? Might it help them to understand that winning is always important – but not at any cost?”That 2012 restructure, which initially created six executive general manager positions, was to spin out into all sorts of unintended consequences, not only for Howard, Allardice and the domestic system. The exclusion of the head of strategy, Andrew Jones, from the strategic executive team, saw him depart CA and ultimately become the NSW chief executive. The head of media rights, Stephanie Beltrame, would focus successfully on the operational task of broadcast rights negotiations, resulting in successive major windfalls for the game. And, with considerable irony, Roux would depart CA less than 18 months after drawing up a structure supposedly geared at ensuring the top executive tier was in it for the long haul and not distracted by “the six to 24 month tasks”.As part of the rebalancing clearly required in terms of where CA stands relative to the states, a reconsideration of the Argus review’s original intent for the team performance role is worthwhile. In fact, it may be time to flip team performance and cricket operations, so that the ranking officer for the running of the Sheffield Shield and domestic limited-overs tournament has a wider responsibility than simply to pursue a winning national team. Such a change would help encourage robust, independent club and first-class competition, the better to school players not only in terms of performance but also the spirit of cricket.Clark, perhaps in advance of taking on the team performance role himself, put it this way. “That’s why we need Shield cricket to be strong,” he told . “We spend 90% of our time worrying about the Australian team. We should spend 10% on the Australian team, 90% on Shield cricket. If they’re getting runs and wickets, then we’ve got plenty of players to choose from for the Australian team.”Many CA staffers, particularly those based at the NCC, may well quibble with the percentages raised by Clark. But after seven years of Howard, who grew into a role far larger than originally conceived, a significant shift is undoubtedly required. This was acknowledged by Kevin Roberts, the new CEO who called time on his tenure. “It’s a time for reflection and for learning, a time for us to deepen our relationships,” he said. “It’s important that we show leadership and show that we’re not about words, but we’re about actions.”

Only two other legspinners in Test history have better figures than Yasir

Bharath Seervi27-Nov-201814-184 – Yasir Shah’s match figures in the Dubai Test. These are the second-best by a Pakistani, a shade behind Imran Khan’s 14 for 116 against Sri Lanka in Lahore in 1982. Yasir’s haul is also the best in UAE, eclipsing Rangana Herath’s 11 for 136 in Abu Dhabi last year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Only two other legspinners – Narendra Hirwani and Anil Kumble – have better match hauls than Yasir. Hirwani picked up 16 for 136 on debut against West Indies in Chennai in 1988. Kumble took 14 for 149 against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999, a match remembered for his magical 10 for 74. Overall, Yasir’s figures are the eighth-best by a right-arm spinner.2001 – The last time a bowler finished with a better match haul than Yasir’s 14 for 184. Harbhajan Singh’s 15 for 217 against Australia in Chennai bowled India to a magnificent series win.1 – Yasir’s figures are the best by any bowler against New Zealand in a Test. He bettered Courtney Walsh’s 13 for 55 in Wellington in 1995.1 – This is Pakistan’s first ever innings victory in UAE. This was also their first innings win in nearly seven years. The previous instance was against Bangladesh in Chottogram in December 2011.2002 – The last time New Zealand were handed an innings defeat by Pakistan. It was in Lahore, a game remembered for Inzamam-ul-Haq’s triple century. Six of New Zealand’s eight innings defeats against Pakistan came before 2000.

In terms of star-power, the BPL is ahead of Australia’s BBL, but the Australian pitches are of a superior quality, thereby acting as a catalyst for more exciting cricket

Mohammad Isam09-Feb-2019The big starsFirst-timers AB de Villiers, Steven Smith, David Warner and Alex Hales, in addition to Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Shakib Al Hasan and Evin Lewis made it the most star-studded BPL of all time.Warner batting right-handed against Rangpur Riders and the hundreds by de Villiers, Hales and Lewis were some of the most eye-catching moments. The starpower and quality of cricket this edition should serve as a massive boost to the organisers, who have often called the BPL the second-best T20 tournament behind the IPL.The underdog storiesEverybody loves an underdog story and the BPL had room for that. Chittagong Vikings, a side assembled quite late in the lead-up to the tournament, were expected to just make up the numbers. But they reached the knockout stage on the back of several impressive wins.Among the players, Rilee Rossouw made himself indispensable to a Ranpur Riders’ line-up consisting of de Villiers, Hales and Gayle, despite initially being picked as a back-up option.After a dreary start, the tournament was given the kiss of life by rookie offspinner, Aliss Al Islam, as he took only the third hat-trick in BPL history in a four-wicket haul against Rangpur Riders. While being reported for a suspect action soon after was a slight damper, should he be able to correct it, Bangladesh have could have a mystery spinner at hand. Another talent in legspinner Minhajul Abedin Afridi got a few game after being a mere net-bowler for the Riders.Shamsur Rahman, who last played for Bangladesh five years ago, became Comilla Victorians’ middle-order mainstay despite hardly being in the reckoning even in the domestic scene.Shoddy broadcast qualityThere were far too many errors throughout the tournament in the TV graphics and commentary. Tino Best mixed up names of teams and captains during the toss while one or two of the other commentators made a mess of calling simple plays. Thankfully, the inclusion of Danny Morrison and Dean Jones lifted the quality of commentary almost overnight.ALSO READ: Bangladesh’s Big Four headline BPL’s team of the seasonThe mistakes in graphics stood out more starkly. Khaled Ahmed’s age was shown as 119, wrong names of batsmen at the crease, incorrect scores and scoring equations became regular. In the second qualifier, the bowler who took the wicket, Mashrafe Mortaza, was mentioned as the batsman.Was the BPL better than BBL?In terms of star-power and shorter length of the tournament, the BPL is ahead of Australia’s BBL. There being no stipulation in a franchise’s budget is BPL’s distinct advantage, as well as allowing four overseas players in the line-up. BBL has a budget cap and allows only two overseas in the XI.But the BBL’s pitches remain of superior quality, acting as a catalyst for exciting cricket. The BPL has to do far more to expand itself within Bangladesh, which would give the overused Mirpur pitches much-needed rest.

Kent’s vice-captain seeks to fulfil his potential with an Ashes year looming

Adam Collins04-Apr-2019Pedigree: it’s not a dirty word. At least not as far as Daniel Bell-Drummond is concerned. It is a tag he has carried with him since he was a kid. Now, at 25 years old, he is readying himself for his most important season yet, appointed the interim vice-captain for Kent’s first season in the Championship top flight since he began his professional career as a 17-year-old.His glittering CV always precedes him. You know how it goes: more runs in under-age ranks for England than any other, duly recognised as the standout schools player by in 2012 after his final season at Millfield. He clocked a Youth Ashes hundred against Australia when nobody else made it to 30. Rob Key, his captain on graduating to senior ranks, predicted that he would play 100 Tests. On every measure, Bell-Drummond was the definition of a prodigy.But now that’s less clear. It could go either way. Yes, time is still firmly on his side but, by the blunt measure of a first-class average of 32 – that mark dropped to just 20 in 2018, with no red-ball hundred for his county since 2016 – and the pressure starts to build on somebody of which so much is expected. Well, maybe for lesser types. But not Bell-Drummond. He knows his is a name people scroll down scorecards to locate and that doesn’t intimidate him.”I find that quite cool to be honest,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “It is something that I have been working towards all of my life. The pedigree I was brought through with to now, it is something to be proud of, but the important thing is to try and make that step up. It is not the worst thing in the world being talked about. I prefer it to not being talked about, that’s for sure. My youth cricket and the school I went to, I was in the limelight quite early so I have been used to it from a young age. So hopefully I can put some scores together to push on.”It being an Ashes summer, a logical reference point for fans is the truly breathtaking innings he played against the touring Australians at Canterbury to start their tour four years ago. It might be overstating it to say that he ended Ryan Harris’ career, but it was the final innings in which the mighty quick bowled. Fawad Ahmed was also taken down by the then 21-year-old, the Kent faithful singing his name to the familiar White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” riff. The 92-ball century finished with 127 from 112 deliveries and every Australian tourist certain they would be seeing him again at some stage sooner than later in the biggest stage.ALSO READ: Finn at 30: Where now for England’s Next Big Thing?“It was a good day,” he says with the modesty of somebody who has been asked about that innings many times in the seasons since. “Everyone felt slow compared to Mitch Johnson at the other end because he was so fast, which woke me. I was grateful for that and it is something I will definitely think about for the rest of my life. Everything clicked.”As it did again for the England Lions the following summer. Again at his home ground, this time against Sri Lanka, he contributed a unbeaten 171 as part of a 367-run stand with Ben Duckett – the second biggest in the history of List A cricket. With Andy Flower overseeing the side, he was once again in the national discussion; on the path as everyone foretold.When the next two seasons sputtered in Championship cricket, Bell-Drummond’s white-ball credentials swelled in both formats. It won him a brief start at the Bangladesh Premier League, and more recently, for Auckland in New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition, a stint in which he averaged 74. “I wouldn’t say it has been the worst of times,” he says. “I’ve still progressed as a cricketer and then I hadn’t represented the Lions or anything, and I had two solid years in that, so definitely I have improved since then.”That measured and positive disposition is evident when talking about the rest of his winter, spent playing grade cricket with Randwick-Petersham in Sydney. Does that club ring any bells? It might do, due to the saturation coverage David Warner brought every time he picked up his bat for the ‘Randy Petes’. Bell-Drummond averaged 60 across his eight games and left with a considerably different impression of Warner than the one he arrived with.

All I heard of Dave [Warner] was in the news and I knew he was getting slammed so I didn’t really know what to expect but he was brilliant,

“All I heard of Dave was in the news and I knew he was getting slammed so I didn’t really know what to expect but he was brilliant,” Bell-Drummond says. “It sort of half-surprised me because of his reputation. I don’t know if the media got it wrong or maybe he is changing a little bit. What I can say is that the time I spent with him he was a top man. I can’t speak highly enough of him and can’t wait to see him back in the Australian team.”On the available evidence, it’s a savvy move from Kent to promote Bell-Drummond to the vice-captaincy in the absence of Sam Billings and Joe Denly, both at the Indian Premier League for the opening exchanges of the new season. Yes, he has skippered England at youth level and the MCC in Barbados last year in the season opener, but his leadership qualities off the field reinforce that he’s exactly the sort of character that commands respect.Take Platform Cricket. Launched last year by Bell-Drummond, its co-creator, 14 primary schools and 400 pupils are taught the game in the south east of London. Having grown up in Lewisham – the only current professional player hailing from there – he simply wants the diverse community to have the fair access to the sport. “It was always something that I wanted to do, being black myself, but it’s not just about that,” he says. “It just dawned on me that, if I am in the position to help and give back to the community, then I have got to do it even though I am fairly young. But I think that’s more of a reason to get into it because I am still relevant and got the energy.”Born of Jamaican parents, Bell-Drummond’s emphasis with Platform Cricket is not about race as much as socio-economics. “Having gotten into it more it is a location thing,” he says. “There are even children who aren’t from cricketing countries from origins in Eastern European. If they are all English they should all have an equal chance of playing. They may not have cricket in their blood like my parents did, but they are fully English. Every kid should get that opportunity.”Given the toxicity of the Brexit debate and its not-so-subtle focus on freedom of movement within the European Union, there would be something quite wonderful if, in a decade or so, a kid from Poland is bashing the door down thanks to the opportunities afforded to him or her thanks to Bell-Drummond’s work. Time will tell, but his energy for the task it is palpable.Returning to the challenge ahead in the new season, Bell-Drummond is craving one attribute that sets apart potential from true success – dependability. “I know that I have it in me so it is just about finding the consistency and putting the scores together that will get me noticed,” he says. “Division One will be a big thing. But to be honest, I have always had the opportunities. The more experienced that I am, the more confident I am in myself.”But is this the year? The body of work he’ll look back on as making the difference? Bell-Drummond is quietly confident but realises there is little point getting ahead of himself. “I always wake up with the dream of playing for England and it hasn’t changed. But I don’t want to look too far ahead. You can forget what is right in front of you.”

While saying India got the best batting conditions, the South Africa spinner accepted they didn’t bowl as well as they could have

Firdose Moonda03-Oct-2019If Keshav Maharaj thought touring India would offer him ideal conditions to show off his skills, the first two days of the Test series would have made him think again. South Africa’s first-choice spinner had to bowl 34 overs before he saw any success and has described the Visakhapatnam surface as one of the most challenging he has played on, especially because he operated on it before it began to offer any assistance.

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“It’s probably one of the toughest surfaces I’ve bowled on in terms of it being a lot slower and not biting as much. You got slow turn but the ball didn’t really kick off the wicket. When the ball got softer the odd one straightened or there was a little bit of bite, but the cracks have been opening because of the heat. So there is a little bit of assistance coming through now as opposed to when we started. I’d say it’s about a day-and-a-half [before that started happening],” Maharaj said.India enjoyed prime batting conditions in the first five sessions of the match, when the pitch offered neither pace nor sharp turn and its sluggish nature tested the skills of South Africa’s spinners. Unusually, the visitors went in with three, none of whom put massive revs on the ball, so they had to rely on other methods, such as variations in speed, to try and make something happen. “With the wicket not spinning, you try and beat the batsmen through the air and go slower and try get some assistance, or maybe the odd faster ball might grip,” Maharaj said.ALSO READ: “I’d like to think if I do well I pave the way for other SA spinners” – Keshav Maharaj interviewFor 82 overs, nothing worked. That Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy lacked discipline didn’t help but Maharaj was quick to defend his team-mates and transfer credit to India’s openers. “If someone comes down the wicket and hits you, it’s not a bad ball. If you’re getting hit from the crease or cut then it’s a different story. Mayank (Agarwal) played superbly well and so did Rohit (Sharma). Everything they wanted to do paid off. I wouldn’t say they bowled badly. Sen is a batting allrounder, so I think his contribution in his first taste of international cricket went pretty well for him in tough conditions,” he said.Finally, after Rohit hit Maharaj for back-to-back boundaries which including stepping out of his crease to drive him for four, Maharaj tossed one up to invite the charge and beat Rohit with turn and flight to allow Quinton de Kock to complete the stumping. By then, India already had 317 on the board and South Africa’s bowlers knew it would be “difficult to come back from that”. They took six more wickets which Maharaj said “gave us a bit of positivity,” but understand that the thrust of the fight may be over.Keshav Maharaj celebrates a wicket•BCCIThe best batting conditions are gone, the best bowling conditions can now be enjoyed by India’s spinners. South Africa could bowl again, but their deficit of 463 runs and the threat India’s spinners have already posed to their inexperienced line-up make it unlikely they will be toiling for any reason other than to allow India to set a winning target on a deteriorating surface. Maharaj admitted the toss may have played a decisive factor but also acknowledged South Africa were not as good as they should have been. “The toss does play a role because you want the best conditions for the spinners to bowl in, but we could have been a little bit better at times. But the toss is a large factor in the outcome of the game,” he said.Arguments will be made over team selection and whether South Africa should have gone for a more incisive quick given that they have two others, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje, in their ranks. But perhaps a more critical look needs to be cast on what’s going on behind the scenes. In the post-World-Cup overhaul, spin bowling consultant Claude Henderson was among those whose contract was not renewed, despite the work he put in with Maharaj, which included long hours in the nets.The impact of that was evident over the last two days, where Maharaj carried the bulk of the bowling load, and tied his end as best he could. “I love bowling. Whether the outcome is five wickets or two wickets, I love bowling. As long as the feel [of the ball] in my hand is good then I’m on the right track. Long spells is something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s the long hours that I train alone that has given me the match fitness to bowl them,” Maharaj said.South Africa’s position aside, Maharaj may yet go on to have a memorable tour in India. He is three wickets away from 100 Test scalps which will equal Nicky Boje’s career, and is six wickets adrift of overtaking Paul Harris’ haul of 103. Once he gets there only Paul Adams (134 wickets) and Hugh Tayfield (170) will be ahead of him as South Africa’s most successful Test spinners. Given Maharaj’s age, 29 years old, his attention to his fitness and the amount of Test cricket to be played in the next few years, it’s entirely possible he will become South Africa’s leading long-format spinner. But whether he will be able to dominate in India is yet to be seen.

Former tearaway quick is using his experiences to mentor young fast bowlers in Bangladesh, particularly Ebadot Hossain, and has his sights on bigger roles

Mohammad Isam01-Jan-2020It is a ’90s fan thing that when you have a player from that era in front of you, imaginations tend to go wild. I had Nantie Hayward’s attention last week and asked him what he would do with the ball in a T20 today. Top of the mark, what would he be thinking?Hayward, Sylhet Thunder’s fast bowling coach this season in the BPL, said his plan would be to bowl fast and wicket-to-wicket in the powerplay, and then use the slower ball and yorker generously in the slog overs. And then, because he is Hayward, the same Hayward of our youth who roughed up the best batsmen in the world with his pace and awkward bounce, his fantasy bowling spell in a T20 these days, too, would include a bouncer.”If it’s a little up and down, I will go six metres to start off. Try wicket to wicket. Don’t give any room so that batters can’t free their arms and get through the line. In the end overs, I will try to vary with slower balls and yorkers,” Hayward says. “Now and then a bouncer, because I don’t think a lot of okes set themselves up for a bouncer at the end. It is important as a bowler to understand your own ability – what works for you and what doesn’t work for you.”That last sentence, however, tells you it is no longer Hayward the bowler who is sitting in front of you. It is the 42-year-old bowling coach who has seen it all. He wants his wards to understand themselves better, in order to perform better. Hence, no mention of a bouncer when he is prescribing the same tools for younger bowlers.”If you can bowl a good slower ball and a yorker, you will be successful 99% of the time. The top T20 cricketers like [Jasprit] Bumrah can bowl yorkers whenever they want. It is the difference between a normal and top fast bowler. It is a skill.”My biggest philosophy in T20s is to keep it as simple as possible. Things will happen for you. Don’t change your ideas or plans,” he says.Hayward has been saying these things to Ebadot Hossain, the young Bangladesh seamer who has been looking to become faster. Hayward says that they are currently trying to correct an aspect of Ebadot’s landing that may give him an extra yard of pace.”To become a fast bowler, you have to work hard in the gym. Get strong. Get your core work sorted. There are a few techniques [to help too], like we are busy now with Ebadot. We feel he can bowl faster. His back leg is coming around himself. But if we can drive on that, there’s an extra 5kph we can pick up,” he says.Hayward hasn’t seen many fast bowlers in Bangladesh but he is working with one who is regarded as one of the fastest. He says that the young fast bowler must gain experience by listening to others, before becoming experienced himself.”Ebadot has all the attributes to be a top fast bowler. He has got a beautiful action, nice set up, really nice rhythm. It is just really tweaks here and there. It would make him one of the better fast bowlers in Bangladesh.Nantie Hayward in his bowling stride•Getty Images”I don’t know his background but he lacks experience. The more he plays, better he will get. If the senior guys around him keep telling him what to do, for another two or three years, he will be an awesome cricketer.”Ebadot is only the latest fast bowler Hayward is working with. His other protégé, Anrich Nortje, is playing for South Africa.”I love to see young cricketers get through the system and do well. We have Anrich Nortje bowling at 150kph for South Africa. I spent a lot of time with him when he was a youngster. He comes from the same town where I am from. We are still in touch.”Hayward believes that anyone who touches 150kph regularly can get away with certain things. But he insists on hard work at the gym and at the bowling crease, where every session must count.”Bowling 150kph, you can get away a lot because of lengths. If you bowl at 130kph, it is easier for batters to get on top of you. But at 150-plus, you can err with length and line but get away with it. If you are a 120 or 130 bowler, you need consistency.”With young bowlers with whom I want to work with twice a week, I would set up four spots for the bowlers and stand around to see how good our grouping is. If you are bowling in the nets for the sake of it, your skills are not getting better,” he explains.Hayward speaks from experience. After giving up baseball and being fast-tracked into professional cricket through a chance sighting by Kepler Wessels in the mid-90s, Hayward only played 16 Tests and 21 ODIs between 1998 and 2004. His peak coincided with a great period of fast bowling in South Africa.Life became tougher after he quit playing and delved into the tyre business for a few years. But soon he realised that he still loved cricket and coaching became his new calling.”I have been in coaching for a long time, after my playing career. I had a stint with Northwest Cricket as an amateur coach for two years. I thought that it would be better to do freelance stuff, and not be connected to one provincial set-up.”I moved back to the Eastern Cape for a long time. I worked with a few young boys, some of whom played the Under-19 World Cup. I am based in Durban for the last three and a half years. I do a lot of work with bowlers all over South Africa,” he says.After his stint as the Sylhet bowling coach, where he is working alongside former team-mate Herschelle Gibbs, Hayward is looking for new opportunities. He has got wind of the vacancy in Bangladesh where fellow South African Charl Langeveldt recently quit his job as the pace bowling coach.”I would love to [get one of those roles]. It is one of my dreams. They say you have to crawl before you can walk. It will be nice to move up to get those opportunities,” he says.When you converse with former fast bowlers who were known to be aggressive in their playing days, you tend to relive those moments with them, not just for a sense of nostalgia, but to feel for a moment what it was like. You want to bowl fast and scare the batsman. With Hayward, you understand that a fast bowler comes a full circle by acquiring more skills, even if that means teaching younger players how to bowl fast.