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My childhood spanned Australian cricket’s golden generation.
I remember the brilliance of Steve Waugh in the West Indies, arguing with my South African friends who would win each match and series, and finally at the end of my school life, the day Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer retired.
I gobbled up the name, state and details of every player who had a remote chance of playing for Australia.
I bowled leg spin because of Warne and learnt very quickly through Mark Taylor that the best captain is not necessarily the best player (that is no offence to Mark Taylor – after all this is the golden generation).
So I was excited to read Antony Pinshaw’s article describing that generation’s contribution to the current generation through their coaching prowess.
If the question was asked ten years ago which of Australia’s golden generation would excel as coaches, I don’t think any of the players Pinshaw mentioned – except for Shane Warne (who is not a full time coach) – would be mentioned.
None of these players, except for a brief stint by S.K. Warne, have ever captained their country. One of them only played one Test match.
Many of these were not the crème of crop – the calculated captain or the star player – but rather hard working or fringe players for their country.
Darren Lehmann’s attitude to coaching and managing players should be assessed and repeated by sports psychologists everywhere. He has managed to instil passion and simplicity into a highly technical and mentally tough sport.
Jason Gillespie‘s mantra is similar. Despite overcoming setbacks as a player (such as being one of the only players to be dropped after making a double ton), the fiery paceman went all over the world in order to achieve coaching excellence. If Australia or a state team can’t entice him back home, I predict he will coach England.
Shane Warne has one of the most amazing cricketing brains ever – I suggest that every aspiring player watch his ‘Master Class’ during the lunch break of the cricket this summer. Hampshire was so impressed with him as a captain that they named a stand after him.
Most of the players mentioned by Pinshaw were not icon players for Australia, but their careers are still impressive. All except Gillespie and Andy Bichel have been a captain for their state and/or a county team.
All these players had long-term cricket careers that extended to Australian, state and county cricket honours, and retired in there 30s. Cricket is a tough physical and mental game, so to survive that long is a formidable achievement.
It should not be surprising that these players are now brilliant coaches. Utilising what they have learnt from their long and successful careers in cricket, they have added additional skills so they can teach others and coach the game.
They may not have been the icons of Australian cricket at the time, but it shows how hard it was to get to the pinnacle during that era. Many had to break Sheffield Shield records to get a chance at playing for the Australian team.
If anything, it shows how brilliant Australian cricket’s golden generation really was.
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