Phil Simmons: “Bangladesh team wanted to leave a recognition that we are a good Test team who can play good Test cricket”
In an exclusive conversation with RevSportz, Phil Simmons, head coach of the Bangladesh men’s national cricket team, reflected on the team’s historic nine-wicket victory over Australia in the first Test in Darwin. Simmons spoke about the significance of the landmark win, the team’s celebrations and what the result meant to the players, including Mushfiqur Rahim, as well as the entire nation of Bangladesh. He also shared how Bangladesh is planning to approach the final Test against Australia while ensuring the team remains in control of their emotions and grounded after the high of such a memorable victory.
Boria: How did you manage to take a Bangladesh team to beat Australia in Australia in red-ball cricket?
Simmons: It definitely would be the biggest moment in Bangladesh cricket history, beating Australia in Australia. For any team who’s going there, it’s always a big thing because they are difficult to beat in Australia. But I think over the last year or two, our Test cricket team has been getting better and better. We had a little blip in Zimbabwe where we lost a Test match there, but before that, we’ve been playing some good Test cricket. So, the confidence has been building. And even though the three-day game didn’t go as we wanted it to, we definitely had that confidence coming into this game.
Boria: Bangladesh can now be very competitive overseas in any condition.
Simmons: And that’s what we’ve been trying to build on a lot. We missed Rana (Nahid) from a point of view of pace, but the three guys who played made up for that in their discipline and their accuracy.
Boria: What does this mean personally to Phil Simmons, the coach?
Simmons: I told the guys in the dressing room yesterday; it is the biggest win of my Test coaching career. I came here with West Indies and we didn’t beat Australia. So it means a lot because of how we’ve been working as a unit, how the guys have been working. Especially the hard work after the 54 in the practice match. It gave me so much joy when that run was hit.
Boria: People were taking down the Bangladesh team. Did that kind of tell the boys that this is a lot more than just a match and fire them up?
Simmons: I don’t think we needed anything to fire us up. I think just playing against Australia, playing Test cricket for this group fired them up, because they wanted to leave a recognition that we are a good Test team who can play good Test cricket. And the main thing right now is that we can play good international cricket away from home. Especially in Australia, England, South Africa, where people always think we’re going to falter because of bounce and pace, the guys are really up for showing that we are capable of playing outside of Asia.
Boria: Can you tell me a little bit more? What did you tell the boys?
Simmons: I think the biggest factor in that is about controlling the emotion. We sometimes get to that stage where we’ve gotten four or five wickets in the morning and we live with that. Whereas in this case, we try to make sure that at lunchtime, at tea time, we stayed at the same level and made sure that we came back out with our emotions intact. And not getting the emotion too high or too low if we didn’t get wickets. That was one of the main things we tried to do to keep that emotional meter at a level place.
Boria: Some days back, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was trolled. He was being criticised on social media for those five wickets, 50 runs. A word on Mehidy.
Simmons: Excellent. And his all-rounder status is getting bigger and bigger. I think he’s number two in 50-over ODI cricket. He’s moving up in Test cricket. We saw some really top-class off-spin bowling from him in that second innings. Because the wicket, as Steve Smith mentioned, was good to bat on still on the third day. His ability to deceive batsmen like Steve shows that his off-spin pedigree is getting better and better.
Boria: The series isn’t over; Australia will come back hard. Now that you’re up, people will watch. Thoughts on that?
Simmons: It’s going to be even bigger if we can clinch the series. And again, we have two Test matches in Bangladesh against West Indies in October. To clinch this series, the stadium at Mirpur could be full on that first morning against West Indies. It’s one Test match that is historical. It’s the biggest thing in red-ball cricket, especially for Bangladesh. But we also have one more Test match to play and the level we want to keep is what we played in this Test match.
Boria: What was the celebration like?
Simmons: We were comparing it a little bit to when Argentina won games in the World Cup because the streets in Dhaka were unbelievable during the World Cup. Yesterday, we were talking about it being similar to that. People celebrating, messages I got from people in Bangladesh, it is all something. Some people didn’t believe that it could happen, especially on this tour. I can imagine what it’s like for Bangladesh people because I know what it’s like for me.
Boria: As a player, as a distinguished coach, how important is this? Now with Bangladesh coming through, if they are consistent, Test cricket overall can become much more competitive.
Simmons: Yeah, that’s what we need. We need the competitive nature of Test cricket. I remember Steve saying it a few years ago that Test cricket needs a competitive West Indies, but I think Test cricket needs every team to be competitive. And in order for us to be more competitive, we have to keep getting chances like this and make sure that we have improved from the last Test match, which was 20 years ago or something like that. So, showing that we have improved, getting better and winning matches is going to make Test cricket more competitive and better for us.
Boria: Did you celebrate at all or did you tell the boys to celebrate only after the series?
Simmons: Usually with me, I wouldn’t have let any big celebration because we still have a match. But I could not hold back. Even in the dressing room, I just had to sit back and watch them enjoy themselves because it is so big.
And for somebody like Mushfiqur Rahim, who has been here for a long time, and been through some tough times, it was great to see the joy in his face. I really enjoyed their celebration and how they enjoyed winning this game.
Boria: Have you picked up any Bangla for your fans in Bangladesh?
Simmons: [Laughs] It’s not good yet. So, I won’t release it. I will release it if we win the series.
Boria: When you are on this high, it is very difficult to get your focus back. So, is that a challenge for coach Phil Simmons?
Simmons: It is. And it is the biggest challenge between now and the next Test match. I think it’s something that we have spoken about before we left Bangladesh, that our emotions need to be in control and emotional control is one of the biggest things in sport. Because we get excited when we start to do well in things, so it is the biggest hurdle now going into the second Test.
Boria: Many congratulations. Thank you very much. I appreciate you joining.
Transcribed by Divyasree De
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