Mumbai, Dec 19 (PTI) India Women’s bowling coach Troy Cooley on Tuesday lauded his side’s seamers for their hard work to improve upon their skill-sets, which he said has brought success, amply displayed during the record 347-run win over England in the one-off Test last week.
India’s next assignment is another one-off Test against Australia starting here on Thursday.
“I know what sort of work they are putting in. The growth has been in line with the work they have done. They are very keen to grow and develop skills,” Cooley told the media here after the team’s training session.
“The biggest improvement is that they have added skills and variations but not only that — the control and when to use them.
“That has come in quite nicely so the strategy behind what ball they are going to use — attack or defence — we talk about talking to the ball now and they are getting some answers back,” said Cooley.
Cooley, who is also the fast bowling coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, was brought into India Women’s coaching staff for the home series against England and Australia, having worked with the group for the tri-series in South Africa earlier this year.
Not working on a permanent basis may have its own impact but Cooley said working on the individual strength of each player helps in the longer run.
“I get to see them quite often,” said Cooley.
“On and off, obviously (right now) out of the NCA, which is very supportive of all the targeted players. I have definitely had some contacts, be it camps or ready to go on tours, if I am lucky enough to get on for a tour.
“But again, a lot of credit goes back to the states and their coaches that they have had. We all make sure whatever we do complements (with) what they have done,” he said.
India bowler Renuka Singh Thakur has been making early inroads on opposition batting line-up on a persistent basis and Cooley praised the right-arm seamer for using her variations deftly.
“She has worked extremely hard to not only develop her fitness but also skills,” he said.
“We are starting to see some rewards of all the hard work. Not only can she swing the ball back in naturally, she has now got the ball that straightens and leaves the right-hander.
“It is great to see her using the angles, I really like her putting together her sequence of deliveries… the number of deliveries that she has got as options. The tool box is quite big now and she has been using it in a very strategic and tactical way,” Cooley added.
In the last Test, Pooja Vastrakar ran through England’s top-order in the second innings with a three-wicket burst and Cooley was impressed with the way the right-arm seamer has been able to sort out her issues.
“She dedicated herself to improve her run-up and get the most out of it,” he said.
“Now she is finding it easy to be able to become more balanced at the crease. You can see the natural tendency now to get into the stumps and challenge those batters.
“She has now got enough pace and variation to be a good red ball bowler,” he said.
Cooley said India’s head coach Amol Muzumdar has also been a strong driving force of the team.
“The new head coach is hell-bent on everybody who is coming for training or in games is all about improving themselves. There are a couple of World Cups coming up and he wants improvement all the way,” he said.
With the uncapped Priya Punia attending India’s nets session here on Tuesday and Shubha Satheesh missing out, Cooley confirmed it was a precautionary move.
“No update (on Shubha). The medical team have got a hold of that. It is very sad for us to see, after she batted so well to get a knock on the finger,” he said.
“We are just hoping that it will heal quickly but the medical team will give some advice on that. The replacement player is just coming in obviously just in case,” he added.
Source: PTI News
