Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed Toby Radford as the new head coach of the High-performance Unit.

He had earlier worked as the batting and assistant coach of West Indies, BCB confirmed in a recent press release. 

His introduction to the High-performance programme will be through the training camp in Sri Lanka in September-October.

An ECB Level 4 coach and a former First-class cricketer for Middlesex and Sussex, Radford was the West Indies senior team’s batting and assistant coach on two occasions (2012-13 and 2016-2019). He has also performed the role of Head Coach of Glamorgan and Middlesex in the English County Championship.

Radford carries comprehensive experience as a consultant for ECB and Cricket West Indies (CWI). He has held the positions of Director of CWI’s High-performance Centre, Director Academy of Middlesex County Cricket Club and has coached England’s Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 teams.

“I am delighted to be appointed as Head Coach of High Performance for the Bangladesh Cricket Board,” Radford was quoted in the press release expressing his excitement on the new assignment. 

“Bangladesh has many talented young cricketers and it will be a privilege to work with, and help develop, them in their journey to consistent success at the international level. I would like to thank the BCB for this wonderful opportunity for me to help shape their players of the future. I can’t wait to get started,” he added.

Also read: Craig McMillan now Bangladesh’s batting consultant

Former New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan has been appointed Bangladesh’s batting consultant for the Tour of Sri Lanka 2020, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed on Tuesday. 

In his decade-long international career, McMillan scored over 8000 international runs across the formats. 

Following his retirement as a player, McMillan performed the role of New Zealand’s batting and fielding coach from 2014-2019.

He also has coaching experiences with Canterbury, Middlesex and Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab.

The Tigers are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka to play three Test matches in October-November this year. McMillan will join the team during its pre-tour camp in Sri Lanka.

This series was initially slated to be played in July-August, but due to the Covid-19 situation, both the boards decided to play it in a new schedule. It will be marked as Bangladesh’s first three-match Test series in six years.

Also read: Neil McKenzie steps down as Bangladesh batting coach

A new batch of Bangladesh U-19 cricketers comprising 45 members has started training at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BSKP) on Monday. Before joining the camp, all of the members of the team including the support staff went through a Covid-19 test. Only a player was tested negative who sent to isolation as per the advice of the medical team of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). 

All the players who joined the camp have to stay in BKSP during the camp which will run to September 18 in this phase. After this camp, the coaches will choose a final batch and eliminate some members. 

The whole training camp is divided into three different parts as the batting coach of the support staff, the former opener of Bangladesh national team Mehrab Hossain, told the media. 

“This camp is divided into three different parts. In the first part, we will work on the specific skillset of the bowlers and batsmen, which will follow a eight-day net session. We hope the players will be able to assess themselves during these two parts. In the third and final part, we will create three teams comprising the players of this preliminary squad, and they will play a few matches among them which will help us call the final team,” Mehrab told the media. 

To form a new batch of U-19 players, BCB generally hosts a cricket league for the youngsters. But this time around, organizing a league was impossible due to the deadly outbreak of the Covid-19. And, BCB arranged this camp as an alternative move.

“This is a good opportunity for us. I would like to thank BCB for this initiative,” Prantik Nawrose Nabil, who was a part of Bangladesh’s squad during their first U-19 World Cup triumph last year in South Africa, told the media. 

“We couldn’t train due to the pandemic. Now it feels really good to be backed to the field. Credit goes to the board who has arranged this camp with all the facilities we require to be prepared well and cover-up the lacking which we had due to the pandemic,” he added.

Bangladesh right-arm pacer Rubel Hossain is eyeing the upcoming Sri Lanka series for a possible Test comeback. The 30-year-old pacer was recalled for the format in Rawalpindi, Pakistan earlier this year. But he was subsequently overlooked for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at home. 

Despite his white-ball prowess, Rubel failed to establish himself as a regular choice for the Tests. However, the pacer is hopeful for another chance in Bangladesh’s first three-match Test series in six years in Sri Lanka. 

The Sri Lanka series is slated to be played from October 24 in Colombo. Before that, the Tigers will fly out to the island nation in the last week of September. The Tigers will have a longer training camp after reaching Sri Lanka. 

“Cricket has made its comeback in England after the Covid-19 interruption. Pakistan is also playing a series against England. We are also waiting for a series in Sri Lanka. I am targeting this series for a Test comeback. If I get a chance, I’ll try my best to prove myself,” Rubel said after his individual training programme on Sunday. 

Rubel has spent the majority of the period of lockdown and subsequent easing at his village in Bagerhat. He couldn’t bowl there due to the lack of facilities. He came back to Dhaka last week. 

"After arriving back in Dhaka last week, I started bowling practice at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Along with my fitness training, I am working on my bowling as well,” he added. 

Rubel failed to bring his white-ball performance to Test cricket. It wasn't for lack of chances either. He has made 27 Test appearances till date, but bagged only 36 wickets at a bloated average of 76.77. His lone 5-wicket haul in an innings ended up costing 166.

Also read: Neil McKenzie steps down as Bangladesh batting coach

The parents of former captain of Bangladesh cricket team Mashrafe Bin Mortaza have recovered from Covid-19.

Mohammad Faruk, an official of ‘Narail Express Foundation’ said  Mashrafe’s father Golam Mortaza and mother Hamida Mortaza were found negative in the second test on Saturday.

Earlier, four family members including Mashrafe’s parents, aunt and sister-in-law tested positive for coronavirus on August 7 and  then they  took treatment from home.

All of them made recovery from Covid-19.

Mashrafe tested positive for the virus on June 20 and took treatment from home in Dhaka since.

He was found positive for COVID-19 again after a second test on July 4. Later, he tested negative for Covid-19 on July 14.