‘India is HQ of international cricket’

Williams says that he had absolutely no hesitation in taking up the coaching position in 2009. Maharashtra’s previous foreign coach,Darren Holder,did not have a very pleasant experience but Williams said that the decision to coach Maharashtra was an absolute ‘no brainer’. He had spent five years with the Bangladesh national side,first as assistant coach to Dav Whatmore and then as interim head coach,and felt that coaching in India would be “an opportunity too good to miss.”

The brief given to him was very clear. “I was here to build a young team capable of winning consistently,” he says. In his second season,Maharashtra captured the domestic Twenty 20 championship. “The Syed Mushtaq Ali win gave us a lot of belief. Winning a trophy was very important,and showed us that we could do just as well in four day cricket,” he says.

But this didn’t happen instantly for Williams’ men. In the same season,Maharashtra were also relegated to the plate division of the Ranji Trophy.

“The first season we played,we had nine debutants in the first two games. The guys were all excited about playing first class cricket. The second season turned out to be a reality check,” he says. “I believe that the guys who survive that reality check generally go on to have good careers.”

Retaining the same core group of young players,Maharashtra went on to enjoy a solid couple of seasons,culminating with them qualifying for the knockouts by topping their Plate group last season.

“Our belief has been increasing every year.” says Williams. He takes the example of the game against Assam,which Maharashtra managed to win with one over to spare. “We travelled for 17 hours straight for that game. We lost the toss and had to bat last. We lost the first innings lead but the bowlers did a fantastic job in the second innings to bowl Assam out for under 200. Our batters drew on their experience and got us over the line.” he says. Williams also mentions Maharashtra’s win against Jharkhand on a flat track in Nashik. “We took a bit of a gamble by asking Jharkhand to follow-on on a good wicket. But again our bowlers did a good job to restrict the oppositions and our batsmen finished off the job and got us our five points.” he says.

Williams says that coaching a team full of fresh-faced youngsters is a unique experience. “In an experienced team a coach doesn’t really have to do a lot because the players know what to do. With a young team motivating the guys is important. You need to invest time in players. Player development is a key factor. All of us here are obviously itching to win trophies but people need to understand that trophies are not the only yardstick by which success can be measured,” he says. “If I see a player who I have coached doing well on the field that is a victory for me.”

Williams believes that the team is shaping up well but a few things need to be improved on. “We need to find a good attacking bowler who can bowl in tandem with Samad (Fallah) and Akshay (Darekar). And we need a couple of batsmen to score lots of hundreds,and go on to score double hundreds,for us to mount a serious challenge.”

For the 2012-2013 season,former England all-rounder Dermot Reeve will take over the coaching duties for the Maharashtra team. “ I am part of the academy and at any time when the boys need to work on something I am always ready to throw a few balls at them. I have built up a good rapport with the boys and I am always available if they need me.”