If we go back in time, when India won the 1983 World cup in England, it was a huge moment in the world of cricket. Now if I ask you to recall the names of the players involved in this feat, it would be done within a minute but most of us would fail to recollect the names of people who were indirectly responsible for the victory, the support staff. Someone who saw this momentous achievement live might cudgel their brains and put forth a name but for us (born after 1983) it is almost impossible to think without the internet.
When I talk about the support staff, I include everyone from the Team’s coach to their performance analyst. The physiotherapist, the bowling/batting/fielding coach, the team manager, the mental conditioning coach and the fitness trainer all form a support staff these days. It is the effort of the players coupled with the arduous efforts of these people that put a team on the victorious path. While the credit of a positive performance is rightly given to the team members, the support staff on the other hand is content with the vicarious success that they get.
Till last year the Australian team was down and out, they were losing almost every match they played outside their home turf and those defeats were a testament to the mismatch in forming combinations in the new squad that was just exposed to the ruthless cricketing world. The appointment of Darren Lehmann as their coach after sacking Micky Arthur before the Ashes series in England turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Kangaroos.
Though they lost the Ashes in England, their performance in India during the One Day series was commendable. Lehmann along with the bowling coach, Craig McDermott has transformed the Australian side. For once when the experts around the world started saying that the downfall of Australia has started, they bounced back and are now the No.1 team in ODIs and for a team that was termed as underdogs, they are giving a very hard time to the No.1 Test side, South Africa.
The resurgence of Mitchell Johnson as a consistent lethal wicket taking fast bowler over the past few months should be credited to Craig McDermott and his strategy to use the bowlers in a more result oriented way where Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle create pressure for the opposition by putting a leash on the flow of runs and Johnson on the other end intimidates the batsman and gets rewarded with the wickets. The emergence of Chris Rogers at the top order and Steven Smith in the middle order adds stability to the team and bringing out the best from players that have only started at the Test level should be applauded and credited to the captain, coach and the support staff.
Sachin Tendulkar, during his emotional retirement speech in Mumbai dedicated a large chunk of it to the support staff that worked with him over the years. He thanked all the analysts, trainers, physiotherapists and doctors, accepting that without the efforts of these people he would not have carried on for the 24 years that he did.
The people who contribute towards the development of a player start the process from the very beginning for fitness and rectifying technical errors and play a major role in a cricketer’s life. India’s U19 World cup captain, Unmukt Chand, in his book ‘The sky is the limit-My journey towards the World Cup’ credited his team’s achievement to the efforts put in by the coach, Bharat Arun and his support staff who made the team go through rigorous training to form a cohesive unit.
The appreciation that should be given to the coaches and the support staff is not yet delivered to them in Cricket, as when a team is on a winning streak the major part of the credit is taken by the players but during a team’s abysmal phase the first thing that is done by the board is sacking the coach. In football, the credit of a team’s win is shared equally by the team players and the manager for the think-tank behind a team is mostly the manager and the coach. The time when a manager shifts from one-club to another is given a much better media space than when a coach is changed in a team in cricket.
The job of a manager in football or a support staff in cricket is an onerous one. A player, when on the field has to think and perform only one role that is assigned to him but these people sitting outside have to devise a role for all the players and make sure that they implement the same on the field. Try playing a football game in the Manager mode on your play station and you would know.
The reward for the support staff of any team in cricket is long overdue but these people do not actually strive for media attention, they are content with the vicarious pleasure they derive when their team wins. Shan Warne, as he joins Australia as a spin bowling consultant is in the media for long but has anyone talked about the efforts of McDermott and Lehmann?
THINK!!!!!!
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