Cricket Blog: How the Aussies turned in to a powerhouse
Cricket Blog: How the Aussies turned in to a powerhouse
The Australian Cricket Team , has been lauded with several awards. The most notable being, 2002 Laureus World Team of the Year. I am talking about the Australian Cricket Team of 1995 - 2005.
Back home, probably a decade ago, I rented a video cassette from a nearby Video store. It was the 1984-85 series between the then mighty West Indian team, captained by the great Clive Lloyd , and the Australian side, captained by Kim Hughes .
The golden era of the West Indies Cricket was nearing its end and it was the last test series for Clive Lloyd. Imagine a team that boasted Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh (a substitute then
) and Patrick Patterson as their bowling arsenal, Roger Harper, Gus Logie and the captain himself, set outstanding examples in the department of fielding. Their batting comprised of Des Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards, Lloyd (himself).
Imagine such a dream-team and truely they pulverized the Australian side in that five test series. Kim Hughes relinquished his captaincy in the middle of the series. I remember the video showing an emotional Kim Hughes (literally crying) press conference.
Allan Border [nicknamed A.B.], took over the captaincy from Kim Hughes and it wasn't an easy task for him either. He had to build upon a demoralized team. The next couple of years wouldn't be smooth sailing. Yet he built an Australian team with fresh talent and with the guidance of an innovative coach, Bob Simpson. The two led the Aussies to the 1987 World Cup victory in India (I still remember the match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata -- broadcasted by the Govt. TV channel, Doordarshan) as well as several Ashes victory.
A.B. retired from International cricket in 1994 and his successor, Mark Taylor , carried upon the foundation built by his predecessor. He built a more-aggressive Australian Test-side (note: Test-side). Mark Taylor's approach wasn't considered for the shorter version of the game (One-day) by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). Hence they had a different captain for the one-day version. None other than Steve Waugh . Steve, eventually took over the captaincy from Mark (both versions of the game) after 1999. Mark had not only built an aggressive team but also was a gentleman, best remembered for not surpassing Donald Bradman's score of 334 against Pakistan. He declared the innings at 334* (not out).
Steve, like all his predecessors built an even more aggressive Australian side that went on to win the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. Steve, led from the front and in many instances would pick the ball to bowl at times of impasse (to create a breakthrough in the innings). He is also best remembered for innings of grit and character. He might not be the most flamboyant type but the "ever reliable" type.
Now, the captaincy is vested with Ricky Ponting. I cannot say anything more as he is already the 2005 Cricketer of the year and known for his outspoken and aggressive approach (quite evident out of his Aussie Origin). He has also led from the front and captained the side to 2003 World Cup victory in South Africa and beat the Indians in the sub-continent (which eluded his predecessors a lot!!).
Coming back to the analysis, from Justin Langer's column in BBC :
What makes the Aussies such a powerhouse?
"The foundations of the Australian cricket team's success are not really secrets, but rather a basic set of values, principles and assets that we are lucky enough to possess.
These ingredients include sheer talent, strong leadership, a proven game plan and a very powerful culture that encourages elite performance and excellence from everybody who becomes involved in the team.
The team has an enormous amount of talent at its disposal. It is unusual to boast so many extraordinary players in the one team. "
So, how did they build a team that boasts an enormous amount of talent just like the Windies team of the 1980s ? It is an overnight process? Nope. It is a process that the ACB started a couple of decades ago and has yielded results. It is still yielding. So, what is the success model behind it?
Is it the aggressive, "never say die" attitude of the Aussies? Is it their culture that infuses the "killer-instinct" or the sense of motivation each and every player derives from watching his team-mate perform? Is it their investment in Science and Technology to study and correct (read: improve) the performance of their players? It is infact a combination of several things. First, they believe in themselves. They have built upon a standard that every succeeding captain is vested with the responsibility to maintain and even better them.
This could be very demanding in the years to come. Sure, every nation goes through a pattern of highs and lows. But it is the duty of the Cricketing body (administrative) to build and maintain such a consistent pattern. So far, the ACB has done a decent (infact, excellent) job of maintaining the winning-trend. As noticed by the new set of players like Mike Hussey, Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke etc. The present Aussie team boasts several 30s + players. The careers of present players (already considered legends), Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and the captain himself (Ricky Ponting) are n't too far.
I am sure the ACB would do something the South African Cricket Board did..invest its hopes on a younger captain like Graeme Smith. This would be a smooth transition but a lot of expectations and pressure on the young shoulders that is going to carry the hopes of already demanding Aussie Supporters.
The bottomline is "Attitude". It is a very important magic word esp. in team environment or team games. It is the "attitude" to be positive and the desire to win. I am sure it is something the stereo-typical Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) should consider. We are noticing some positive steps in the form of investing on outside resources [Coach, Experts and Physio-therapists]. It is not to undermine the Indians' ability..but someone has to constantly instill in them the right mixture of attitude, confidence, professionalism and killer-instinct needed to win and more importantly make it a consistent practice!
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-_yaZuKIhaaeCbIUWGBmyog--?p=202
Cricket Blog: How the Aussies turned in to a powerhouse
The Australian Cricket Team , has been lauded with several awards. The most notable being, 2002 Laureus World Team of the Year. I am talking about the Australian Cricket Team of 1995 - 2005.
Back home, probably a decade ago, I rented a video cassette from a nearby Video store. It was the 1984-85 series between the then mighty West Indian team, captained by the great Clive Lloyd , and the Australian side, captained by Kim Hughes .
The golden era of the West Indies Cricket was nearing its end and it was the last test series for Clive Lloyd. Imagine a team that boasted Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh (a substitute then
) and Patrick Patterson as their bowling arsenal, Roger Harper, Gus Logie and the captain himself, set outstanding examples in the department of fielding. Their batting comprised of Des Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards, Lloyd (himself).Imagine such a dream-team and truely they pulverized the Australian side in that five test series. Kim Hughes relinquished his captaincy in the middle of the series. I remember the video showing an emotional Kim Hughes (literally crying) press conference.
Allan Border [nicknamed A.B.], took over the captaincy from Kim Hughes and it wasn't an easy task for him either. He had to build upon a demoralized team. The next couple of years wouldn't be smooth sailing. Yet he built an Australian team with fresh talent and with the guidance of an innovative coach, Bob Simpson. The two led the Aussies to the 1987 World Cup victory in India (I still remember the match played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata -- broadcasted by the Govt. TV channel, Doordarshan) as well as several Ashes victory.
A.B. retired from International cricket in 1994 and his successor, Mark Taylor , carried upon the foundation built by his predecessor. He built a more-aggressive Australian Test-side (note: Test-side). Mark Taylor's approach wasn't considered for the shorter version of the game (One-day) by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). Hence they had a different captain for the one-day version. None other than Steve Waugh . Steve, eventually took over the captaincy from Mark (both versions of the game) after 1999. Mark had not only built an aggressive team but also was a gentleman, best remembered for not surpassing Donald Bradman's score of 334 against Pakistan. He declared the innings at 334* (not out).
Steve, like all his predecessors built an even more aggressive Australian side that went on to win the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. Steve, led from the front and in many instances would pick the ball to bowl at times of impasse (to create a breakthrough in the innings). He is also best remembered for innings of grit and character. He might not be the most flamboyant type but the "ever reliable" type.
Now, the captaincy is vested with Ricky Ponting. I cannot say anything more as he is already the 2005 Cricketer of the year and known for his outspoken and aggressive approach (quite evident out of his Aussie Origin). He has also led from the front and captained the side to 2003 World Cup victory in South Africa and beat the Indians in the sub-continent (which eluded his predecessors a lot!!).
Coming back to the analysis, from Justin Langer's column in BBC :
What makes the Aussies such a powerhouse?
"The foundations of the Australian cricket team's success are not really secrets, but rather a basic set of values, principles and assets that we are lucky enough to possess.
These ingredients include sheer talent, strong leadership, a proven game plan and a very powerful culture that encourages elite performance and excellence from everybody who becomes involved in the team.
The team has an enormous amount of talent at its disposal. It is unusual to boast so many extraordinary players in the one team. "
So, how did they build a team that boasts an enormous amount of talent just like the Windies team of the 1980s ? It is an overnight process? Nope. It is a process that the ACB started a couple of decades ago and has yielded results. It is still yielding. So, what is the success model behind it?
Is it the aggressive, "never say die" attitude of the Aussies? Is it their culture that infuses the "killer-instinct" or the sense of motivation each and every player derives from watching his team-mate perform? Is it their investment in Science and Technology to study and correct (read: improve) the performance of their players? It is infact a combination of several things. First, they believe in themselves. They have built upon a standard that every succeeding captain is vested with the responsibility to maintain and even better them.
This could be very demanding in the years to come. Sure, every nation goes through a pattern of highs and lows. But it is the duty of the Cricketing body (administrative) to build and maintain such a consistent pattern. So far, the ACB has done a decent (infact, excellent) job of maintaining the winning-trend. As noticed by the new set of players like Mike Hussey, Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke etc. The present Aussie team boasts several 30s + players. The careers of present players (already considered legends), Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and the captain himself (Ricky Ponting) are n't too far.
I am sure the ACB would do something the South African Cricket Board did..invest its hopes on a younger captain like Graeme Smith. This would be a smooth transition but a lot of expectations and pressure on the young shoulders that is going to carry the hopes of already demanding Aussie Supporters.
The bottomline is "Attitude". It is a very important magic word esp. in team environment or team games. It is the "attitude" to be positive and the desire to win. I am sure it is something the stereo-typical Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) should consider. We are noticing some positive steps in the form of investing on outside resources [Coach, Experts and Physio-therapists]. It is not to undermine the Indians' ability..but someone has to constantly instill in them the right mixture of attitude, confidence, professionalism and killer-instinct needed to win and more importantly make it a consistent practice!
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-_yaZuKIhaaeCbIUWGBmyog--?p=202