Stumpy’s short shots
ERNEST Hemingway wrote in The Garden of Eden, published in 1986, “Remember everything is right until it (goes) wrong”.
It would appear that this accurately describes the position that Cricket Australia (CA) finds itself in at the present time.
In the sporting world, a multitude of sins can be covered up if you are winning; but the Australian men’s Test team has not been all that successful for some time, going down at home to an injury-riddled India, despite its self-proclaimed “world-class bowling attack”.
The next problem facing them is that they have played next to no real Test cricket, partly as a result of COVID-19, so they have been denied the opportunity of re-establishing themselves in the winner’s circle.
Then there is the coaching controversy.
Reports of difficulties in the relationship between Australian cricket coach Justin Langer and some of the playing squad have been highlighted in the media of late.
Suggestions that Langer is too intense, too competitive, and too critical abound. Langer is “old school” in his approach, and this is the new world.
Some sports simply require coaches – Australian football is a good example. Decisions concerning tactics, rotations, and manoeuvres are necessarily made from the boundary line by coaches. Perhaps not the plethora that is seemingly required at the top level, but nevertheless, teams need a coach.
But cricket on the other hand is up for debate at the highest level.
Having played the game, the decisions made, in relation to the state and progress of the game, are made by the on-field captain.
The question is why do a group of elite international cricketers have the need for a coach at all?
Having been a member of the South Australian winning Sheffield Shield team of 1975-76, we didn’t have a coach.
We had a great captain, leader, and decision-maker in Ian Chappell who did all that. In fact, may I suggest that if we had had a coach offering suggestions from the boundary line, Ian may well have
offered him advice on where he could place them!
Former England player and coach David Lloyd has strong feelings about the topic, saying “a team should be able to look to its captain for leadership. Tension and confusion can prevail if a coach strays into the captain’s domain.”
CA states that Langer will see out his term as coach. That’s always of concern, and more often than not, a sign of instability, when the hierarchy guarantee that all is well.
Upon Langer’s departure, may I suggest that the position of Australian cricket coach be retired, for both practical reasons and as a useful cost-saving measure?
‘Warnie’ said it oh so well when he joked “I’m a believer that the coach is someone you travel in to get to and from the ground”. Now, do we or don’t we play our first ever Test match against Afghanistan, scheduled for November in Hobart? Should politics play a role in that decision, or not?
Australian captain Tim Paine suggests that “we will be guided by international politics”.
Forget that – for a country to have Test match status from the ICC, it must also have a women’s sporting program, and I haven’t seen the Taliban announce a change in attitude to their previous
opposition to women’s sport.
As for an Aussie side to play them, if it goes ahead, judging on the form of the Australians playing in England at the present time, we may not even start favourites.
Have your say:
Contact Rick at
editor@bunyippress.com.au
