England Hires Indian Sidearm Specialist for World Cup Prep

suppruser October 4, 2023October 6, 2023 0 Comments Sidearm Specialist, World Cup

England has brought in a specialized Indian cricket coach to help them prepare for the upcoming World Cup, where they’ll be facing fast left-arm bowlers. To help with their training, they are using a tool called a sidearm, which resembles a device used to throw a ball for a dog. This sidearm has been commonly used in professional cricket for the last decade. In India, the England coaching team comprises head coach Matthew Mott, along with his assistants Marcus Trescothick for batting, Carl Hopkinson for fielding, Richard Dawson for spin bowling, and David Saker for seam bowling.

To ease the workload of their head coaches, England has brought in Saurabh Ambatkar, who used to play cricket in younger age groups in Mumbai and Vidarbha, to help out. What makes Ambatkar valuable is that he can throw with his left arm, which will provide England with a different perspective and help them prepare for the many left-arm fast bowlers they’ll face during the World Cup in India. Ambatkar has experience working with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in the United Arab Emirates’ T20 league (ILT20). He has also worked alongside Wayne Bentley, who is the team manager for the England cricket team and has a similar role at KKR.

Four years ago, England’s batsmen had a tough time against left-arm seam bowlers, especially after losing nine wickets to Jason Behrendorff and Mitchell Starc in their 2019 World Cup defeat to Australia at Lord’s. In that tournament, they lost the most wickets to left-arm seamers compared to all other teams but also managed to score runs at the fastest rate against them. Boult is set to be the first bowler in the opening game of the tournament in Ahmedabad.

In addition to Ambatkar, England has added a local massage therapist named Mahesh Aarya to assist their medical team, which consists of physio Craig de Weyman, strength and conditioning coach Andy Mitchell, and team doctor Rob Young.

Today, the England cricket team is planning to travel a long way across India, from Guwahati to Ahmedabad. After that, they will have a training session on Wednesday night, just before the tournament kicks off tomorrow