Former Proteas and Warriors head coach Russell Domingo said time with his family had become even more precious since taking on the role of Bangladesh head coach just over two years ago.
With the Bangladesh team taking up much of his focus since his appointment in August 2019, Domingo’s wife, Genevieve, and two sons have not seen much of him.
Having spent just more than two weeks with his family this time around, the 37-year-old will soon be on his way to the ICC T20 World Cup starting on October 17.
Domingo was a guest speaker at an event hosted by his boyhood club, the Gelvandale Cricket Club, on Wednesday.
“I’ve been home for five weeks in the last nine months, so it has been a really tough year, having children at school, missing out on family time and being able to do things with my boys, so those are the challenges you face when taking a job overseas.”
The former Warriors coach, who led the side to domestic 20- and 40-over successes in the 2009/2010 season, said their support for the pursuit of his career was the one thing that kept him going.
“They have been behind me all the way.
“One thing that has also made it quite difficult was that we are in a pandemic.
“Previously, they were able to travel with me on the odd tour, but due to Covid-19 my family have been unable to travel, which makes it even harder,” he explained.
Domingo would not be drawn into any questions about the turmoil of national cricketing body CSA over the last few years, saying his focus was solely on Bangladesh and getting to know his side better.
“I know that the side have not got the results that they may have wanted, but they still have some world-class players, and if you discount SA in this World Cup you’ll be a fool, because I think they have a fantastic T20 team and will be one of the dark horses to win the tournament,” he said.
He felt that because they were not being given a fair chance to be favourites for the tournament, it could actually work in their favour.
“I think simply because people are not giving them a chance, they could actually have a good chance.
“They have some world-class players in [Quinton] de Kock, [Kagiso] Rabada, [David] Mille, [Rassie] van der Dussen, [Aiden] Markram and [Tabraiz] Shamsi, who is the No 1 T20 bowler at the moment, the list goes on, so they will definitely be one of the sides to beat,” he said.
Speaking about his role in the Bangladesh side, Domingo said it was a challenge adapting to his new environment, but that it was a continuous process of growth and learning.
“It takes a bit of time, there is no doubt, and a lot of work still needs to be done.
“I need to understand their culture better, there are still things they need to understand about how I want to do things, but it is an ongoing process — a totally different environment and culture from what I experienced when I worked in SA cricket.
“As a foreigner coming in, you have to respect the way they go about things and understand that certain things work differently from the way you might be used to.
“You need to be able to deal with it and stay composed, treat people with respect, because ultimately it is their team and you are a visitor in their country,” Domingo said.
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