Donald Trump showed this week that you can be many things – but above all if you are willing to fight and grapple and persist you can win, or at least be unbelievably competitive.
Whether you agree or not with what is going on in the States at the moment (it appeared our batting line-up thought nuclear armageddon was coming), Trump’s victory had the hallmarks of past Aussie cricket teams, since Captain Grumpy put aside his friendship with David Gower to bring home the ’89 Ashes.
Trump did not care who was put in front of him – he fought, he gouged, he taunted, he conjured, he outsmarted and eventually triumphed, no matter the conditions or predictions put before him.
Switch to the Ashes 2015, following the debacle of ’60’ at Trent Bridge and the following comments below are of interest.
“I need to be reviewed and I have absolutely no problem with that.
“Clearly I have got to take leadership over this. We lost and someone is accountable and ultimately I am accountable.
“The first person I want people looking for is me rather than anyone else. We will do an internal review first and see where that gets to.”
The mystery man? Not the captain, not the coach, but the man with the glorious title of “Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager – Team Performance”: Pat Howard.
I would like to understand how this role of high performance manager works in the system.
After all, in the first innings of both Tests played this summer we have lost 10 for 86 (after a 150-run opening stand) and 10 for 85. One on a highway, the other on a seamer. 20 wickets for 171.
One of my friends today messaged me stating he could not recall the last Australian top order batsman who had the nous to play for time rather than look to score off every ball. Maybe Twitter and Facebook really has destroyed the attention span.
On this theme of batting, ironically Australia won both the 2014 Ashes and 2015 one-day World Cup on the back of once-in-a-lifetime fast bowling performances from Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc respectively. This hid a few shakes.
The aforementioned Ashes series whitewash, which Pat Howard took a lot of credit for, still masked that Brad Haddin had to come into numerous rescue missions in the first innings of that series when Australia were five down and in strife.
The top six has been a huge problem right through Howard’s tenure. Yes there was generational change, but now we are at the stage of utter shambles.
So – under Mr Howard in the high performance unit – this is what I have seen:
– Our pitches for the last few years (ironically barring yesterday’s day one Test belter in Hobart) have been absolute highways. Batsmen do not learn, and bowlers break their backs.
– Our batsmen cannot play swing, seam or straight slow bowling (thanks for the recent tangible demonstration Rangana Herath).
– One day cricket carnivals open our season and we have misguided notions that bits and pieces all-rounder can slot into the five day format based on form in the Matador Cup.
– There is a huge disconnect between the national team and the A team and I do not understand how players are now selected. In theory, you pick best players and next best in A-team and develop them to supposedly support a horses-for-courses mantra. These players have been ignored, and as a result any sense of conquering the ‘Holy Grail’ in India seems a distant wonder. Moises Henriques? Seriously?
– We have just lost three consecutive Tests to Sri Lanka (who theoretically had no top six following the retirements of Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene), having only ever lost one to them since the early 1980s. Let’s not forget we are now being pantsed by a team without Dale Steyn and AB De Villiers – generational leaders of the game.
– Fast bowlers – what is happening? Yes of course they get injured, it comes with the job description. But Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Mitch Starc, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris et al are or were more often than not the Loch Ness monster – rarely sighted.
Courtney Walsh show-cased his theories on fast-bowling longevity – captured so well in the 2012 article by Chloe Saltau.
“Indeed, Walsh grew stronger with age. In an era well before bowling coaches and scientific workload management, he knew when he needed more miles in his legs (he was a committed jogger), and when he had sent down enough overs to back off his training.”
If my memory serves me correctly – as a result of the Argus Review into cricket in 2011, the creation of the high performance manager was to also designate the single point of accountability for the performance of the Australian team.
Mr Howard, I look forward to you explaining how you have destroyed the culture, capability, resolve and spirit of a once formidable outfit.
It is not about winning everything – but it is digging in and letting the opposition (and your fans know) that you will fight.
This is our national team, and it is haemorrhaging.
The only reference to high performance management in any future cricket vernacular should be the voiceover of John Laws spruiking Valvoline.
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