Shane Jurgensen says a stint coaching in Bangladesh is a blessing in disguise for Fiji cricket ahead of the Under 19 World Cup.
Jurgensen is a former Bangladesh national head coach and is in charge of the Rangpur Riders in the domestic Twenty20 league, which has attracted the likes of West Indies opener Chris Gayle, former England batsmen Kevin Pietersen and Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara.
Fiji cricket coach Shane Jurgensen. Photo: Cricket Fiji
Fiji have qualified for next year's Under 19 World Cup in Bangladesh and Jurgensen says the next month is a good chance for him to get a first-hand look at the local conditions.
"It's been fantastic, and a nice sort of change - just a bit of a break from the Fiji side of things and also it's a blessing in disguise for Fiji because I'm back here assessing everything. The boys are working so hard back home - 10-12 sessions a week. Being here now [in Bangladesh] I'm in Dhaka for most of the tournament but we actually go down to Chittagong and I'll be staying at the hotel and also we're playing at the ground where we'll be playing at during the Under 19 World Cup. It's a ground that's not very familiar to me, because we usually play at the other main stadium, so I can get a good recon on what's going on here so it's really good for that."
Shane Jurgensen has Pakistan test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy and South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock among his overseas stars and says he's looking forward to bringing back to Fiji the experience and knowledge gained from coaching elite international players.
