See myself more as a mentor: Walsh

Courtney Walsh, the newly appointed Bangladesh bowling coach, has said he sees himself more as a mentor than a coach for the Bangladesh bowlers. Walsh, addressed the media in Dhaka on Sunday (September 4), after signing a contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board till the 2019 World Cup.


"I don't see myself too much as a coach, as I see myself as a mentor," he said. "I have always tried to get couple of fast bowlers under my wing to mentor when I played for Gloucester, Jamaica or West Indies.
Curtly Ambrose was one of them. So if I can get a second Ambrose from Bangladesh, I will be happy.

"When he came into the team, he looked up to me. We formed one of the best striking partnerships in world cricket. If I can pass that to any two Bangladeshi fast bowlers, I will be very happy."

Walsh admitted that there's still plenty of work that needs to be done, but aims to achieve consistency with the team. Under the tutelage of Heath Streak, the former Zimbabwean fast bowler and Walsh's predecessor, Bangladesh emerged as a formidable bowling side - with the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Al-Amin Hossain being part of a strong pace battery.

"I want to pass on to the Bangladeshi guys that you have to be strong and be prepared for hard work, maintain physically and consistency," he said. "If we can work hand in hand with those two, we will be headed in the right path. It won't happen overnight. We have to put in some ground work. Once we get the basics right, you will see a lot of improvement and consistency."

Despite the lack of any prior international coaching experience, Walsh took on the assignment once he was informed about being Bangladesh's No. 1 choice. "The offer was something that I had to think twice about," he revealed. "I remember when Nizam got in touch with me and said they were interested, I said let me think about it. We went back and forth but when he said, 'you are our No. 1 target,' that was something that I gave it a serious consideration. It showed that they wanted take the cricket to another level.

"I want to thank Nizam for letting me know that I was their No. 1 target. He said the president wanted to ensure that I was here. I arrived here last night to do the best I can for Bangladesh cricket working with the head coach. Together we can achieve some good success for Bangladesh cricket."

Walsh's first couple assignments include home series against Afghanistan in September, followed by England in October.