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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

June 23, 2019

Steve Rhodes

Southampton, England, UK

Q. Hi, Steve. Obviously, a different opponent, this time with a different strength. The bowling is quite strong in the spin department. Do you fear the Afghan bowling attack given how the tournament went last year?
STEVE RHODES: I think the words respect in Rashid Khan. He's a wonderful bowler. I know he went for plenty of runs against Morgan against England, but that was just one of those days for him. Generally, he's very, very aggressive and tight at the same time, so a quality bowler. Then the other two spinners in Nabi and Mujeeb are quality, so we really do respect them, but we don't fear. A lot of the lads have grown up playing on spinning wickets, so they've faced a lot of spin bowlers, but we'll respect them because they're top international bowlers.

Q. Coach, we saw Mustafizur and a couple of the other bowlers bowling to a boot you had placed in front of the stumps, and there was some incentive as well. Could you please tell us the idea behind that and whether they were practicing something.
STEVE RHODES: No, that was just a little bit of fun between myself and the bowlers. Training can get a little bit mundane at times, so I wanted to make sure we were on the money and trying the hardest to hit the boot. It was just a little bit of a challenge between myself and Saifuddin, and also it puts a little bit of pressure on him, so it's always good to practice under pressure. Just a little bit of fun, and there was nothing exchanged from anybody's pockets.

Q. Coach, it's basically having to win every match you play now. You were in a similar position in the Asia Cup with having to win matches against Afghanistan and Pakistan to get to the World Cup final. Can you draw on that for inspiration?
STEVE RHODES: Definitely. I can draw on the experience in the Asia Cup. It was a wonderful clause, and we almost got there. We nearly won the final off the last ball. Yeah, I think the Bangladesh team -- and we all know from watching, if you really break it down and we do win these matches coming up, we only need five games, and we've won the World Cup. That's one way of looking at it if you think of them all as knockout games. Of course, that is not easy, and the first challenge and the first step is Afghanistan. That's why we won't look further than the next game, which is Afghanistan. They're a tough team. They're a tough bunch of cricketers. They really fought hard against India. We're really respectful of them. They pushed us hard in the Asia Cup, and thankfully, we came out on top in that game. We know it's going to be a difficult game tomorrow, but we're not fearful. We are confident. We've been playing some good cricket, but, yes, if we do win game after game after game, who knows?

Q. Coach, I have two questions. Actually, in the very last match here in Afghanistan and India, what is the message you have got after watching the game, and how much will the India and Afghanistan game influence the Bangladesh best 11 against Afghanistan, first? Second thing, considering every aspect, Bangladesh is a lot bigger team than the Afghanistan team, so is it actually helped Bangladesh to feel that we're the bigger team and we have the power of the bigger performance in this match?
STEVE RHODES: First of all, I saw the game, watched it on TV, saw a little bit of it live when we were training. There's two things really. The wicket was a little bit slower than the wickets we've been playing on, and it turned a little bit. We're playing on the same wicket, so that's useful to know. And secondly, you've all seen where the wicket is on the ground. It's right in the middle, and it's huge boundaries. So we're going back to the old ages of 1980s and '90s, when you had some big grounds to fill. So the six hitting and the four hitting might be less likely of the day against India. We'll certainly have to run hard and earn our singles in twos and turn them into threes. So that's an important aspect. And then with the ball, I think, it may well suit some of our bowlers, and we're looking forward to that challenge.

As far as Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in rankings and things like that, we're better, but I can't honestly tell you enough that we're very respectful from this team. We don't fear them. We certainly don't fear them. We're ready to take them on, but you know what, I'm really proud also of Afghanistan's rising cricket and ranks. Bangladesh has done a fine job in 20 years honestly, and Afghanistan are now doing a good job. And I think that these two countries are actually where cricket is thriving. Cricket is thriving in Bangladesh, and I think for Afghanistan to do what they've done is an amazing effort as well with the troubles and problems they've had back home. So it's nice to see these two emerging countries. Yes, Bangladesh are a little bit older in that terms internationally, but it's wonderful to see the crowds and the support and the way cricket is thought of in these two countries.

Q. Coach, definitely last three matches would be do or die match for Bangladesh. Do you feel pressure, or what message to the boys?
STEVE RHODES: You've probably hit the nail on the head, which means you've made a very good point. If you think too hard about this being do or die or the end of the tournament or anything like that, then the pressure, you can put too much pressure on yourself. So I'll be trying to take a little bit of that pressure off the team. They know the importance of the game, but my job is to make sure we concentrate on the game, and we do some smart things, and we play well because, if we play well, we'll have a good chance of winning the game. We try too hard, we put too much pressure on ourselves, I'm afraid we might not just get the result we want. My job will be to try to take a bit of pressure off the team.

Q. Just two quick questions. Afghanistan played a full length ODI yesterday on the very same wicket that they'll be facing Bangladesh tomorrow. Do you think that will be an advantage to the team? And Mehedi was hit earlier on his head during his interview. Is there any updates on his health for tomorrow's game?
STEVE RHODES: First of all, the scheduling, I think that Afghanistan with a day off today, no travel, and then play the day after is no problem. In fact, it would be a little bit of an advantage playing on this ground in these conditions. They know it well now and on the same wicket as well. We had a game which suited us a little bit at The Oval as well when we played that first game against South Africa. But going back to the question about Mehedi, yeah, he just got hit on the side of the head. I think he was doing an interview at the time, and the ball came flying out of the net. He seems okay. He seems fine. As I left to come up here, the physio was checking him over. I'll get a report as soon as I get back down there, but there was no blood or anything like that. I would imagine the physio would check him over for something like concussion because that's normally the done thing, but that's all I can tell you at the moment.

Q. Coach, what is the physical and mentally state of Saifuddin? We need to know his physical state because he skipped the last game for injury. And we also need to know his mental state because there is a report he is out as a result of the injuries?
STEVE RHODES: First of all, physical state, he's fine. He needed rest. His back was giving him some real problems. That's the real reason why he missed that last game against Australia. It was a physical thing. He couldn't bowl. You're not going to pick a player who can't bowl. His mental state, I actually -- I think this is a really, really important issue because the reports that came out were untrue. There was something about a meeting that I had regarding a replacement with Mashrafe and the man they had selected, but that didn't take place. So I would like you guys, before questioning the integrity -- and I appreciate it's probably people not in the room here -- but before questioning the integrity of players, make sure your information is 100 percent. I think that's the key message here. Most of the Bangladeshi reporters here, as well as the staff, we're desperate for us to do well, and anything that can be -- if it's a lie and it actually puts a player in a very difficult position, then that's not good for that player, and that's not good for Bangladesh. And I'm desperate to win this World Cup. That's the challenge. That's the mountain to climb. If anything gets in the way, then please be really sure of what people are telling you before you write it.

Q. The team is staying here for seven days. They're very used to with this condition the play the way it started. How is it advantage? Because they're used to this current condition, how it will be advantageous for them?
STEVE RHODES: I think, as I mentioned before, it will be a slight advantage, but I think that we've got the capability, we've got the quality to get over that hurdle that they might have a slight advantage. It's all in the day. Cricket is an amazing game. You win, you lose, you play well, you don't play so well, and that's the same for Afghanistan as well against us.

Q. Steve, going back to the match between India and Afghanistan, the wicket looked, as you said, on the slower side, and probably that suits your batsmen more?
STEVE RHODES: I'm not sure really. I think you might say that that wicket, we've seen some of those wickets in Bangladesh -- slow, stoppy, a little bit wicket, a little bit of turn. So you might say, yes, it would suit us. It's not a green wicket, so that might be a good thing, that might not suit us. So possibly, yeah, you might say that might be a small advantage we'd have.

Q. This is a ground which has a Shane Warne stand. Obviously, leg spinners have done well. You don't have a leg spinner. Afghanistan has got one. So how much of an advantage is that?
STEVE RHODES: Well, it would be nice to have brought a left-hand spinner, off spinner, and a leg spinner to the World Cup, but if that's not possible, then let's go with our best spinners. At the moment, there's a lack of leg spinners in Bangladesh. It's something we're working on. It's something we're working on to get right. I'm sure we will do. As I've said many times, to anybody who's a leg spinner, there's not many around, so you can shine very, very quickly if you're any good.

But Shane Warne obviously made his name away from Hampshire. He played here and did well for the county, but Shane Warne is known really for his deeds in Australia, and certainly the ball turned a little bit more in Sydney and places like that than it does here at the Rose Bowl.

So, yeah, if we had a good leg spinner, he'd be here, and we're working on that.

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