Bangladesh cricketers set for upgraded workload management with the help of GPS

Bangladesh's new head of program David Moore has suggested that the team needs to use GPS data to up their skills.

Top teams like England, Australia and India use the help of GPS to track cricketers and better manage their workloads.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) collects such data of the cricketers via their Management Information System (MIS) team but Moore believes things will be even better if GPS can be added into the mix.   

"I am going to work with the data we have in the MIS. The thing for us if we want to compete against the best in the world we have to be doing at least what the best are doing and try to do it better," Moore told reporters on Wednesday.

Moore detailed on the way players in Australia use technology for workload management.

"They have been using Athlete Management System (AMS) for a long time and it is a lot about communicating. In Australia, there are state players. The state team put everything in the AMS so there is communication and everyone is aware what is going on," he said.

"The tracking helps us see how they improve and how they are developing. I am having a lot of talks with Naso (Nasir Ahmed- BCB's head of Management Information System) and he obviously believes in it. I also believe in bringing that system so that we have got all the information we need for players to be the best," he explained.

Using GPS will help players avoid injuries according to Moore. 

"It's (GPS) more than just workload management. What we want is a system in place to measure workload management. We will try to ensure that players have longevity and limit injuries. It will also be about the pressures on their bodies, for instance, fast bowlers," he said.

"There is no GPS in Bangladesh at the moment here and I don't know whether clubs are using it. So the issue is we are talking with some of the companies and want to work on what is the best product for Bangladesh cricket and we can utilise it. We already got a system in place in Edge 10 and the GPS talks to Edge 10 and they can relay information to each other and that's a good thing," he added.

Moore explains that players need to also cooperate with the data that they get from the GPS tracking. 

"It's not purely on data, right? It's a big picture and data is only one small part of it. Technical stuff and resilience and performance are other parts of it. It's important to have the data to inform what we want to do but I would not be making decisions solely on GPS or data. The players have to be part of it. We are dealing with humans and so we have got to make sure that we have got a good relationship and players got to trust them and feel comfortable that they can be supported," he said.

He also detailed on his multiple roles for the cricket team and what his plans are. 

"My role encompasses three areas: Bangladesh Tigers, the High-Performance Program and then at the moment coach education. My role is to work with the national coach and other coaches, and other departments like game development to make sure the players that we have are well prepared when they get their opportunity in first-class and international cricket. You can't learn how to play international cricket until you play international cricket. So we're trying to prepare them as much as we can so that when they get the opportunity, they can learn quickly," Moore said.

"I believe at the moment it is probably about bringing everything together. What I meant by that is there is a lot of systems in Bangladesh already in place. We have 70 or 80 coaches in the divisions and the regions. We have got quality young players that I have seen and some that I haven't seen. I have seen BPL, DPL and a little bit of first-class cricket and the talent among the young players is there."

"My role is developing relationships with coaches. Whether BPL, DPL or NCL, I need to ensure we are just not running on stats (as far as picking cricketers for HP Unit). If we invest in someone then we would like to think they are still with us in a couple of years," he said.