Chris Brown, Head Coach and Performance Manager for Norfolk CCC, is full of praise for the Scotland squad as they embark on their two-week tour to Oman.
Brown, former Lancashire CCC off-spinner and ECB Spin Consultant, spent a few days in the Cricket Scotland camp ahead of the Oman tour to work on technical and tactical areas with the squad’s spin bowlers.
“Toby Bailey approached me in November 2018 to come and work with the spinners ahead of an important series against Netherlands, Ireland and Oman.
“Over the course of the three days, I worked on technical areas of enhancement with the spin bowlers in terms of posture, position on the crease and seam presentation where lots of gains were made for the long term – tactically, we spoke about getting in and out of the over and controlling the scoreboard in the 50-over format and attacking options in T20. In this short format, the one thing that halts the run rate is taking wickets at regular intervals which in turn strangles the scoring rate, so we really focused on that.”
Speaking of the squad’s attack, Brown commented “Scotland’s spin attack is well balanced, covering all disciplines and all formats – they’re in a good place heading out to Oman.
“Mark Watt has excellent control and Michael Leask has shown the ability to spin the ball on any surface.
“Chris Greaves, the new addition to the squad, could be well suited to the T20 format and the attack is bolstered by Hamza Tahir who has international T20 experience and showed off his skillset over the training sessions.”
The ECB Young Lions coach complimented the team’s dynamics, saying “I’ve been particularly impressed with the team culture and togetherness within the squad. There is an excellent coaching environment with strong leadership qualities. It’s created a culture for the players to take ownership of their own game and be held accountable for their performances as a team.
They have prepared well as a side in technical, tactical, physical and mental areas of the game. I look forward to seeing how they go in the quadrangular and 50-over series.”
Chris Brown also worked with the Wildcats’ spin bowlers, focusing on technical and tactical areas whilst reinforcing critical angles on field placements for T20 cricket. With the Wildcats’ quest to rise up the ICC world rankings, to which the spinners will play a pivotal role in achieving the feat, Brown’s experience was highly valued.
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