AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY
'Sports is our Business'
  • Home
  • NEWS
  • Radio
  • TV

Collingwood: "Want Scotland to be as confident as possible"

1/5/2014

0 Comments

 
By: Editor
Picture
Collingwood: “Want Scotland to be as confident as possible” 

Aqib: “Working extra hard with the batters specifically on how to counter seam and swing”


Dassanayake: “The bowlers need to make the best of the new ball”
 

Former international stars-turned coaches reveal gameplans for ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014

The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014 (CWCQ) will see former Test cricketers Aqib Javed, Paul Collingwood and Pubudu Dassanayake guide the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Scotland and Nepal as the sides battle it out for the final two qualification positions at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 (CWC). 

Collingwood, who represented England in three editions of the ICC CWC (2003, 2007 and 2011) and who also led England to the ICC World Twenty20 West Indies 2010 title, revealed: “My role with Scotland as an assistant coach involves quite a broad spectrum of different jobs.

“Working with the batters has been the key for me - you don't want the guys to be too cluttered with technical details going into a tournament. You just want them to be as confident as possible, so I’m working on the mental side of that, and asking them to believe in their strengths.” 

Explaining how being a player currently has helped him as a coach, Collingwood said: “If you're still playing, you understand the bad effects of tension in the dressing room. 

“So we've tried to relax the guys, so that they can just go out there in the middle and show their ability. And I think that's important.” 

Aqib Javed, who will tutor the UAE in New Zealand, asserted the importance of preparing for the conditions, saying: “We have a good batting unit, but it has struggled on green, seaming tracks.

“That’s why I am working extra hard with the batters specifically on how to counter seam and swing. We are practising on synthetic pitches and grassy surfaces.” 

Aqib, a member of the victorious Pakistan team at the ICC CWC 1992, and who also featured in the ICC CWC 1996, stated his side was focusing most intently on two teams in its group: “Our main focus early on will be on getting the better of Scotland and Nepal. 

“We haven’t faced too many problems in beating Hong Kong, and we managed a clean sweep against Canada when we toured there. 

“But if you look at the other two teams, Nepal has beaten us three times in the last two years. The fact that even Afghanistan, which has already qualified for the ICC CWC 2015, hasn’t beaten the UAE recently but Nepal has, puts things in perspective.

“The conditions in New Zealand should be similar to what Scotland’s cricketers play in. It has a fairly decent team, with four or five county players. So it will be fairly difficult to beat.” 

Pubudu Dassanayake, who coached Canada at the last ICC CWC and is guiding Nepal in this edition of the ICC CWCQ, also pointed out the importance of basics for his Nepal players, saying: “They are not familiar with conditions where the ball moves around appreciably and where the batsmen have to counter swing and seam by playing late and leaving a lot early on.” 

“So the batters need to work extra hard at that, and the bowlers need to make the best of the new ball by getting it to move around as much as they can.” 

Dassanayake, who played 11 Tests and 16 ODIs for Sri Lanka before playing for Canada in the 2005 edition of the ICC CWCQ in Ireland, was diplomatic when asked about his former side Canada, saying: “Canada are quite strong and motivated. They would not want to miss out on a fourth successive ICC CWC appearance.” 

The ICC CWCQ NZ 2014, which will be the tenth edition of the tournament, will be played from 13 January to 1 February. A total of 48 matches will be staged at seven venues between 10 leading Associate and Affiliate teams. 

The 10 ICC Full Members, as well as Ireland and Afghanistan, have already booked their berths for the ICC CWC 2015. The 14-team line-up for the ICC’s flagship event will be completed once the finalists of the ICC CWCQ NZ 2014 are determined. 

Nepal, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates are all in Group A of the CWCQ, alongside Canada and Hong Kong. The teams in Group B include Namibia, the Netherlands, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. 

Schedule of forthcoming releases: 

6 Jan – Preview of Group A

7 Jan – Preview of Group B

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Menu

    All
    2014 FIFA World Cup
    Athletics
    Basketball
    Boxing
    Commonwealth Games
    Cricket
    Golf
    Hockey
    Marathons
    News
    Olympics
    Rugby
    Soccer
    Spotlight
    Tennis
    Track And Field
    Volleyball
    Women Soccer
    Wrestling


    Picture

    RSS Feed


    Tweets by ASMONTHLY

Tweet to @ASMONTHLY

Contact Us

    Contact Us

Submit

Donate & Support Our Efforts at African Sports Media Network