Stuart Law impressed by Bangladesh’s pace revolution
Stuart Law, file photo
Once struggling to produce quality pacers, Bangladesh has now turned into a factory of fast bowlers. In recent years, a “pace revolution” has reshaped the country’s cricket, with Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Tanzim Hasan Sakib emerging as key forces. Former Bangladesh head coach Stuart Law has expressed his admiration for this transformation.
Law took charge of Bangladesh in July 2011 but stepped down nine months later due to family reasons. During his short stint, he guided the Tigers to the 2012 Asia Cup final. At that time, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza led the pace attack, supported by Shahadat Hossain, Shafiul Islam and Nazmul Hossain.
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The team management often struggled to include pacers in the XI, relying heavily on spinners like Abdur Razzak, Mohammad Rafique, Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and later Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Over the past few years, however, the scenario has changed drastically. Pacers are no longer just there to shine the ball; they are winning matches for Bangladesh. When Mashrafe was nearing the end of his career, Mustafizur and Taskin stepped up, followed by Shoriful, Tanzim, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud. Domestic cricket and the pipeline also boast several promising names.
Speaking to Cricfrenzy, Law said he has closely observed Bangladesh’s progress.
“If I compare 2012 with now, the change in fast bowling is impressive. I won’t name just one—Bangladesh now has quite a few pacers. They work hard, and it’s not easy to bowl at such pace in Bangladesh. It’s all about hard work.”
Currently serving as Nepal’s head coach, Law also compared the two cricketing nations.
“We are still in the process of building a team. Bangladesh has gone far ahead, they have some excellent pacers who can bowl at 140 km/h or more. That’s what you need to survive in international cricket. Batting-wise, Bangladesh and Nepal are somewhat similar. Bangladesh had skilled batters back then, and Nepal’s batters now also have skills. We are trying to develop pacers, and I think the progress has started.”
Apart from coaching the senior national side, Law also worked as technical advisor of Bangladesh’s Under-19 team.
Under his guidance, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and his team reached the 2016 U-19 World Cup semi-final. That squad also included Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Saifuddin, Saif Hassan, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat and Jakir Ali.
The former Australian batter revealed he still keeps in touch with many of those players.
“I still talk to many of them on WhatsApp. When I worked with the U-19 side, I built close connections. They sometimes send me videos asking for advice. I always tell them, even though I’m not their coach anymore, they can knock me anytime.”
