You just gotta laugh when contemporary cricket players complain about too much work and not enough pay. It’s amazing how intelligent human beings can be totally unaware of the Global Financial Crisis, increasing unemployment, and the work of the Salvation Army.
Michael Clarke’s recent (well publicized) present of a $300,000 motor car to his girlfriend was the perfect example of that combination of ignorance and insularity, even though Australia failed to tour Pakistan in March/April, then refused to participate in the Champions Trophy, resulting in almost three months of rest, except for those who chose to take the International Premier League invitation to make another squillion dollars in the ultimate 20-over pyjama competition.
All that partying must have been extraordinarily tiring. And expensive
The Australian team do play and travel quite a bit, no argument there. They also get rewarded extremely well. Other countries have similar schedules and it is all this touring and matches that must be having an increasing effect on the injury toll.
With the first Test against South Africa almost upon us, injuries are hitting both teams before a ball has been bowled.
Morne Morkel twisted his ankle, so we can’t put that down to repetitive strain, just one of the occupational hazards of fast bowling.
Stuart Clark’s case is somewhat different, but both injuries will affect their respective teams in a major way.
Clark missed the first Test against India with the same elbow injury and looked way below his best as he battled in the second Test when Australia lost at Mohali. He came back well against the Black Caps and was the best bowler in the series, although the figures didn’t reflect that.
To have ‘Sarfraz’ fit and firing in Perth would be a huge advantage to Australia.
The extra bounce that has returned to the WACA pitch and his ability to bowl into the sea breeze in east Perth would make him a key ingredient to Australia’s ability to threaten a very strong Protean batting lineup.
In the past twelve months, South African batsmen have made up four of the top runscorers out of six in world cricket. Graeme Smith, Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince all make that list.
The superstar, Jacques Kallis, has been struggling recently, but will be extra determined to do well against Ponting’s men. It is an in form and quality batting order.
Clark’s injury will mean that Mitchell Johnson will be under greater physical and mental pressure.
His tactic of bowling wide of off stump to right handers and testing batsmen’s patience rather than bringing the ball back in to the righties (and away from the lefties), therefore attacking them, will be questioned.
Clark is examining batsmen continually, Johnson waits for responses.
Peter Siddle looks promising, but is inexperienced.
If he does play, and I would certainly have him in the starting XI, he needs to adapt quickly to the WACA’s peculiarity. The South African bowlers will need to do likewise.
Steyn has learnt quickly, but if he gets it wrong for the first twenty overs, it may be too late.
N’Tini is a veteran who has provided wonderful service to his team and he is one who could legitimately ask for less work and more pay. He looked tired against England.
Smith needs him fresh and firing.
The role of fitness trainers has become paramount. Recovery is essential for sustained performance and this series will need those roles filled better than well.
When asked about the demands of the cricket players, I often use the example of professional American baseball players who have a 162 game schedule between mid-April and September (not including the play offs, which may bring the total to 180 games).
Yes, they are paid well, they rarely see their families, and they can play two games in one day, catch a 2am flight and play the next afternoon.
Now that is a packed schedule.
The next three Test should provide plenty of skill, thrills and drama. I am looking forward to it very much.
I just hope the players remain focused on the game and their privileged status in society rather than looking for sympathy. They aren’t likely to get any from mum and dad lined up at the employment office.
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Spiro said | December 16th 2008 @ 6:50am | Report comment
Geoff, you are right on about this. We all remember the cries from the Australian cricket team about too much cricket and away from families for so long and the absolute need to play less cricket and so on, and when the chance came to play in the IPL Twenty20 tournament for huge amounts of money how suddenly the tiredness vanished. Only Michael Clark gave up the chance of being selected for this Twenty20 circus to recharge his batteries.
So much for too much cricket.
Like all things in sport most of this stuff is being driven by managers anxious to extend their cut of the money the game of cricket is generating.
If there is too much cricket for the top players, let them ask to be dropped from the team and give someone else a chance.
Davo said | December 16th 2008 @ 11:03am | Report comment
Of course any professional sportsperson with the prospect of their main source of income drying up by the time they hit their mid 30s will look to maximise their earnings. And no matter how knackered or sick of travelling you may be, the chance to earn six figures for some hit and giggle would be very hard to turn down.
It doesnt hide the fact that at least in the case of the Aussies, they are being asked to play a lot of Test and one day cricket and be on the road for an extraordinarily large percentage of the time. Was it something like 315 days next year that Ricky Poonting would not be sleeping in his own bed in the Shire ? The only sport that could surely compare with this is baseball in the States. Michael Clarke may be able to afford to lease an Aston Martin for a couple of years but those guys with their mega salaries can afford to buy one outright each week !
We all love to think we’d play for Australia for free, but if you have a wife and kids and are going to be rarely at home and you have guys like Lawson and Roebuck constantly stating that you should be playing in places like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, I’d be wanting some decent remuneration as well.
JohnB said | December 16th 2008 @ 11:11am | Report comment
When I saw the headline (without having seen who wrote it) I thought “here we go again, another bloke who never gets out of first gear himself saying I work 40 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, they only work blah blah blah” – however, you have to accept that someone who has been on the treadmill himself is entitled to make the call, and the players don’t help themselves when the burnout claims suddenly get very selective.
Mind you, I don’t envy quick bowlers out in the field for the day in Brisbane in November to February.
Have to say, the baseball analogy is a bit ropy – for a start, the players most prone to injury, the pitchers, don’t play anything like every game, or (generally) even the whole of the games they do play. In terms of exertion for the average fielder, I wonder how many baseball games would equate to one one day game? I can’t see that it would be anything like one to one, so maybe there isn’t as much of a disparity between the workloads as it might at first appear.
Mike Gregg said | December 16th 2008 @ 12:42pm | Report comment
I agree with most of Henry’s comments. Lots of good cricketers would give their left testicle for a baggy green cap—the great salary and endorsements would be a bonus. Sure top class sport including cricket is tough on the body, but what a privelege to join a club of not many more than 400 over 130 odd years. I have no problems with the salaries –economics will dictate what they earn in the long run. If the salaries like in the Australian NBA are too high for some reason and the revenue from tickets, TV, advertising and product sales do not justify those salaries, the gravy train will grind to a halt.
Hearing test cricketers whingeing about the workload reminds me of the line by Gene Simmons of Kiss to a journalist —”If I wasn’t being a rock star, I’d be asking you if you’d like fries with that! ” Forgive me Gene if I did not quite get the quote quite right.
Davo said | December 16th 2008 @ 1:45pm | Report comment
JohnB Agree that you cant compare a hitter having 4 at-bats with a cricketer spending 2-3hrs out in the middle. The parallel I was trying to draw was that of time spent on the road away from home. That seems to be the main beef our guys have. There is no doubt they love a game of cricket but they seem to mainly have an issue with their travel itineraries looking fuller than Kevin Rudds’…
JohnB said | December 16th 2008 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
Davo – I was commenting on Geoff Lawson’s reference to baseball rather than yours (I hadn’t seen your piece when typing mine) but I was probably more coming at it from the tired out from playing too much perspective. I pretty much agree with you re the remuneration – in that regard, it always seems to me that if the game generates a certain amount of income and you’re paying for the infrastructure and the grass roots, if the players aren’t getting a good slice of the rest of it, then who is?
Steve said | January 14th 2009 @ 12:55pm | Report comment
What’s wrong with a sportsman saying they are tired or whatever, it just shows they are human. a person does a 40 hour week at their normal job, see their family every day and they say they worn out and that’s acceptable, a sportsperson spends most of the year away from their family, playing every match knowing that they could have an injury and end their career or they might have a off period (out of form) that could end their career, they admit publicaly how tired / stressed or whatever they are and it’s classed as complaining.
To me it this just seems like a journalist looking for a story out of boredom or lack of creativity etc.
Michael C said | February 12th 2009 @ 9:48am | Report comment
Good to see the lads bussed into Whittlesea yesterday, and MOST of the time there was NOT for the benefit of the media.
ANd also, the late arranged diversion on the way back to the airport via the Northern Hospital in Epping – - a hospital with many patients from the fire zone as well as many staff who have been directly effected (i.e. many of them live in the fire zone or around it, and have lost friends, families, homes too).
btw – the Vics played the Ford Ranger cup game last night like a team that had been rather distracted the last few days.