Learning from the opposition is a better cricketing country: Craig Williams

When Uganda made it to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ahead of continental rivals Zimbabwe, it raised suspensions about whether they would be able to compete at all. However, their performances so far have been more than impressive, with a win over Papua New Guinea. Even though they lost to the West Indies and Afghanistan more than comprehensively, Craig Williams does not lose sight of the context.

“The learning experiences the guys are gaining, you can't get on a training field, you can't get anywhere else. So, what the guys are, it was experience. It was learning from the other teams, opposition is definitely making us a better squad, a better cricketing country, a better cricketing community, so a lot of lessons taking home,” Uganda batting coach Craig Williams said ahead of their final league game against New Zealand in Trinidad.

“The big thing that we keep touching on is professionalism. What our players have now seen is what are the best teams and what are the standards. If you look at playing against the West Indies, how strong, how hard they came at us, how fit their team is, how disciplined they are, where they're bowling, they're batting, they're fielding. 

“So, our guys have been able to see that first hand now. When you watch it on TV the whole time, you don't get the whole picture. So definitely, it's been an eye-opener for our guys. I think there's a little bit of shock. But they know what the standard is now. So, when we tell them in net sessions or training sessions or when we look at fitness and all that kind of stuff, I think they'll get a better idea of what their coaching and technical team is looking after now. So, moving forward, our guys know what is the standard, the world-class standard, and obviously, we're going to aspire to try and get there.”

However, Williams added that the intensity of the training sessions couldn’t translate to the on-field performances, particularly because of the high-pressure situations they have been subjected to on a regular basis. 

“From a coaching perspective, I think what's been disappointing is that the guys don't apply themselves in the game like they would, let's say in training. Because if you come to our training sessions, you will see a different picture. You'll see guys training high intensity, sticking to the game plan, playing straight, playing late. But obviously, when they get out to the middle, they're not able to apply that. 

“So if you look at it realistically, it probably comes down to a bit of stress, the situation. Obviously, playing in the World Cup on TV, those are things, like I said, that we can't bring into the training sessions. So, moving forward, these guys will only get better once they're exposed to those types of situations. Every single day we're getting better and better. We're looking forward to the next game against New Zealand. Obviously, hopefully, we can just apply ourselves better and stick to the game plans,” the former Namibian batter added.

Uganda were bowled out for 58 and 39 against Afghanistan and West Indies, respectively, while beating Papua New Guinea by three wickets. The two batting collapses cut a sorry figure, but Williams added that they had detailed game plans, but somehow, their team failed to execute them.

“We've got quite detailed game plans. We're trying to keep it as simple and basic as possible for the guys. But we've set realistic targets to try and get as a batting unit. I believe we've got very close to a world-class bowling unit. So, if we can get something on the board for the guys to bowl at, then that's obviously going to show the world what we're capable of. 

“In terms of the batting, we're training every single day, we're working with the guys, we're doing video analysis, we're doing technical work. So, we're ticking all the boxes. The last box left to tick is for the guys to apply themselves in the middle. So, hopefully, with one game left against New Zealand, the guys have experienced the pressure; they've experienced the World Cup now, three games already in. Hopefully, in the fourth game, we can see the best of Uganda,” the batting coach added.

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