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If you love somebody, set their beard free

Roar Rookie
14th October, 2014
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Mitchell Johnson won't be getting the call-up to the Aussie T20 side. (AFP PHOTO / JEKESAI NJIKIZANA)
Roar Rookie
14th October, 2014
2

It’s a fact, beards are back. And thanks to the mighty beard, Australia just completed a clean sweep of Pakistan and is now the number one ranked ODI side heading into the World Cup. Questionable claim? Let me explain.

Prior to Darren Lehmann taking the reins from Micky Arthur, the Australian cricket team’s dressing room was not a facial hair friendly environment. By all accounts Micky Arthur’s attitude towards beards could be likened to that of the famously pogonophobic Margret thatcher, who refused to have any bearded men in her cabinet.

For proof of this I point to, what was at the time, a rather innocuous article by Daniel Brettig on ESPN Cricinfo during 2012. In hindsight, this article speak volumes of the attitudes and environment fostered in the dressing room by Micky Arthur.

Towards the end of the piece we learn that Glenn Maxwell, a crucial cog in Australia’s clean sweep, who had just been admitted to the Australian squad, was understandably happy about things and eager to impress. Mickey Arthur was having none of that. Which is highlighted by Maxwell in a telling quote from the article.

“I turned up to the squad and Mickey Arthur goes, `Are you going to shave any time soon?’ and said, `Oh, probably’. About 10 minutes later I went to my room and had a shave,” Maxwell was quoted as saying.

So Maxwell was happy and playing good cricket, but the moment he turns up to the squad Micky Arthur tells him to have a shave, resulting in Maxwell sulking off and returning a beardless shell of a cricketer. Is that what coaches should be focusing on? Especially when it can be needlessly detrimental to the player’s performance?

In a conversation I had recently with a nurse who frequently assists in open heart surgery operations, she made mention of the fact that in days gone by they would shave patients’ beards off. But now, having learned how important beards can be to their owner’s self-esteem and identity, they actually let people keep their beards because it improves their mood during recovery.

Here’s another interesting fact. Beards make you look scary.

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In that study people critiquing pictures of bearded and clean-shaven men rated the bearded furies as looking significantly more aggressive. But you don’t need to tell that to Mitchel Johnson or Kane Richardson – both bowling fast, both bowling bearded and both taking wickets.

Even Dale Styen has recently been spotted sporting some new facial fuzz, and you know what they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Thank god Mitch Johnson has a beard to hide his blushing.

I could not help but think of all this when I watched Glen Maxwell bowl a double-wicket maiden, with Pakistan only needing two to win, and clinching Australia’s victory with a clean sweep of the series. It made me wonder that if Micky Arthur was still coaching, would it have still happened? Would Maxwell have even been in the side? Would he have let Mitch grown the mo? Would he be letting Kane Richardson run around looking like a Viking?

No one can say for sure. But what I can say for sure is Darren Lehmann did. In fact the moment Arthur left and Lehmann took over, Maxwell’s beard was back. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

It might not even be that much of a stretch to say that Lehmann is aware of the mystical power of the beard and encourages their growth. But if not, then his ability to nurture a positive team environment and let players keep their individual identify is the real driving force behind Australia’s purple patch.

It’s also obvious that the beards are a manifestation of this policy.

And look at the results. Whether by design or by happy accident beards are back and it’s hard to argue they’re not making a difference. Which begs the question, what if Ricky Pointing had never shaved off his beard? Sadly, we shall never know.

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