Three top cricketers with special tales to coach Bangla Tigers in fifth Abu Dhabi T10 edition

By K.R. Nayar

Bangla Tigers appoints Stuart Law as their head coach. He has the unique achievement of most runs in Test cricket without ever getting dismissed and hence resulting in no Test average! Shaun Tait, one of the fastest bowlers in the world and nicknamed “The Wild Thing” due to his unconventional bowling action, is their bowling coach. Paul Nixon, the former England wicketkeeper who was famous for his banter behind the wickets and had his autobiography strangely named “Keeping Quiet”, has been appointed as their batting and fielding coach.

Stuart Law

Bangla Tigers are gearing up for the fifth edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League to be held in November this year by appointing three international cricketers turned coaches. They carry with them interesting tales from their careers. Australia’s Stuart Law will be the head coach while his countryman and former fearsome pacer Shaun Tait is the bowling coach. Former England wicketkeeper-batsman Paul Nixon who was known for his tremendous energy is their batting and fielding coaching.

Stuart’s career has an interesting tale. He got to play only one Test match and in the only innings he played, he hit an unbeaten 54 against Sri Lanka. Australia won that match by an innings and he did not get to bat in the second innings. Hence he has the rare distinction of a Test cricketer without an average! Interestingly, like his Test score, he went on to play in 54 One Day Internationals in his career! After his playing days, he became the coach of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the West Indies teams.

Shaun Tait 

Bowling coach Shaun Tait was among the most fearsome pacers and since his unorthodox sling action was tough for batsmen to handle, he was nick-named “The Wild Thing”. Once during a match, his fans sang in unison “Wild Thing, you make my heart sing". Tait once bowled a delivery that registered 161.1kph against England at Lord’s and is the second-fastest delivery of all time. 

Paul Nixon

Batting and fielding coach Paul Nixon, known for his energy and constant banter behind the wickets, would have played more than the 19 ODI matches for England but for Alec Stewart, who held the wicketkeeper slot and captaincy. Nicknamed Nico and Badger, Stewart had once remarked: “Any team that has a character and a talent like Nico should count themselves very lucky.” Known for his banter from behind the wickets, his autobiography was strangely titled “Keeping Quiet”!

Stuart, candidly admitted that he would be learning from the job as head coach of Bangla Tigers. “I wanted to be involved in franchise tournaments in the subcontinent, learning from some great players and working with them; so I am really looking forward to it”.   

Mohammad Yasin Chowdhury

Franchise owner Mohammad Yasin Chowdhury is delighted at having roped in Stuart as the head coach. “Stuart is a dynamic, dedicated, passionate, and motivational coach who will lead the cricketers with the fighting spirit and be able to maintain a positive approach in the dressing room. As far as I remember, after Bangladesh was deprived of qualifying for the next round in World Cup 2011 despite being the host, the Bangladesh Cricket Board appointed Stuart as their coach, and within a very short time, he was able to get all players to sink their disappointment in the dressing room. Then they made history for Bangladesh Cricket by qualifying for the Asia Cup final for the first time although they eventually lost to Pakistan in the final by a mere two runs. Beyond winning or losing, we want to play great cricket and so we need him. Stuart is a real game-changer and perfect coach for the race to the championship.” 

Team coordinator Zaffir Yasin Chowdhury said, "a champion coach is required to win the championship title and we believe that Stuart is the champion coach; we hope Bangla Tigers will make history under his coaching.” 

Commenting on his role, Shaun Tait said: “I am very excited since I’ve not been involved with T10 competition before, so it’s new for me. It’s a great privilege to be involved with Bangla Tigers as a bowling coach.” 

Nixon carries with him the honor of being the winning coach with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League.