Former South African international Ashwell Prince has been named as Bangladesh's full-time batting coach till the end of the Twenty20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Prince was hired as Bangladesh's temporary batting coach for the Zimbabwe series in July. He later also stayed with the team during Bangladesh's historic 4-1 series triumph over Australia. The BCB has extended Ashwell Prince's contract till the next year’s ICC's mega-event, stating his performance as satisfactory. Let's take a look at Ashwell Prince's coaching and professional cricket career to discover his potentials to assist Bangladesh cricket as a batting coach.
Who is Bangladesh's New Batting Coach, Ashwell Prince?
Former Proteas international Ashwell Prince has been named as the Tigers' batting coach, succeeding Jon Lewis, who left Bangladesh Cricket as a batting consultant in May this year.
Early Life
Ashwell Prince was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1977. He made his first-class debut for the Eastern Province side on October 27, 1995. In the mid-1990s, Prince went from Eastern Province to Western Province on the advice of Duncan Fletcher. Ashwell also spent two seasons with the English cricket club Morecambe Cricket Club in his earlier career.
Read Ashwell Prince named Bangladesh’s full-time batting coach
International Career
Ashwell Prince made his Test debut against Australia at the Wanderers in February 2002. He justified his inclusion in the playing XI lineup by scoring 49 runs. He just missed out on a half-century in the third Test in Durban, but his 48 was crucial in his team's triumph.
Ashwell Prince played 66 Tests (3,665 runs at an average of 41.64) and 52 One-Day Internationals (1,018 runs with an average of 35.10) during his ten-year international career.
Coaching career
Ashwell Prince began coaching at the domestic level following his retirement from international cricket. He was the head coach of the Cobras (a team that has now merged into Western Province) before becoming the permanent batting coach of Bangladesh's national team.
The Cobras did not win any trophies during Prince's reign, but they did develop some national team players, notably the Kyle Verreynne, George Linde, Malan brothers, and Zubayr Hamza.
Read Tamim Iqbal signs as brand ambassador of IPDC
What to Expect From Ashwell Prince
Ashwell Prince has been assigned a key role by BCB. His main responsibility will be to instill confidence in the batters when they are up against a strong opponent.
Bangladesh are eager for big hitters in the Twenty20 format. So, Ashwell Prince has to develop some good hitters prior to the actual T20 World Cup in the October-November window. He also needs to identify the primary causes for failure in the T20 format.
Ashwell Prince may motivate the upcoming talents to develop their approach in the twenty20 format. Then he will be able to teach them everything they need to know about power-hitting in this format. His appointment will be useful if the players respond by getting proper lessons from him.
Read Shakib Al Hasan Reclaims No.1 Spot in T20I Rankings, Wins ICC's POTM Award for July 2021
Bangladesh players must be attentive and sincere to play the longer version format. They need to understand the importance of playing multiple sessions in Test cricket. In order to succeed, batters must play the game with the mindset of putting all of their energy in the contest. Batsmen must also be able to switch their attention quickly from one format to another.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board will be satisfied if Ashwell Prince can bring consistency to the players' batting approach.
Verdict
Bangladesh Cricket Board is set on forming three different teams for the Test, One-Day International, and Twenty20 formats. Each format has its own traits, and batters must be aware of them. Bangladesh's batsmen have played well in the previous series under Ashwell Prince's supervision, winning four bilateral series in a row. Young batters who have been given opportunities to play for the national team are doing well at the international level. The majority of the players appear to be confident, and they are not afraid to express themselves in front of giant international opponents. BCB believes that Bangladesh's batters would improve under Ashwell Prince's guidance. Therefore, his contract has been extended till the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup 2022.
Read When Aussie coach chided staffer for posting Bangladesh's celebrations online