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Teflon man? A critical look at Darren Lehmann's coaching tenure

Roar Guru
13th November, 2016
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Darren Lehmann stepped down as Australian coach. (AFP, Glyn Kirk)
Roar Guru
13th November, 2016
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On being made Australian cricket coach in 2014, Darren Lehmann’s stand out creed was ‘about teaching the players how to play the game.’

His relaxed mentoring style symbolised by an adherence to the games basics being key in this. Bringing it to fruition with his expert one-on-ones combined with his hands-on style seeing him active in the follow-ups.

Roll on to 2016, with Lehmann exposed as a great talker with little or no action as well as few, if any, seeing his inept performance as a concern.

A virtual ‘teflon man’, with nothing ever sticking to him.

The worrying aspect is Cricket Australia buying into his facade and associated embrace of denial, seen in them extending his contract to 2019. The timing was delightful in its irony, coming during the shambolic Sri Lankan tour that exposed Lehmann’s lack of attention to obvious flaws, notably in the batting.

“Well, when they’re getting hit on the pads, it’s probably not spinning,” Lehmann said.

“I think we had the problem in Dubai with Zulfiqar. So we’ve addressed that.”

Two series, two years apart with batsmen consistently getting dismissed to non-spinning deliveries but no attention is shown to improving it. Bizarrely, no one pointing a finger at a head coach always declaring about improving players’ games!

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Compare this to the England set up, and players such as Ben Stokes and Johnny Bairstow with their past notable batting issues against spin and how proactive improvements have been made to their games.

Sri Lanka was very much a watershed with the aftermath representing a ‘chickens come home to roost’ scenario for Lehmann.

The batting ills continuing at home, the team ruthlessly exposed against the swing and seam with similar frailties consistent in recent times, as noted by Lehmann throughout his reign.

Attention to basics, Darren?

Teaching batsmen the crucial nature of front and back-foot defence, knowing where their off stump is and how to leave adequately coupled with the correct shot selection. Where’s that?

Steeling obviously meek mindsets to understand the meaning of resolve, fight, grit, relentlessness, desire and prevailing through sheer bloody-mindedness that goes hand in hand with donning the baggy green?

It would certainly limit the litany of insipid batting collapses that have dominated in recent years.

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Within this taps into another betrayal of Lehmann’s creed in regards to mentorship.

Key in this is leadership in the team and the lack of both development and support. Prominent is a young leader in Steven Smith, who has many qualities but still has much to learn. His job has been made harder with many experienced players retiring, robbing him of their auxiliary support.

This needed to come from a noted student of the game in Lehmann. Also incumbent upon him is identifying and developing other secondary leaders in the team. The Sri Lankan tour stood out, with Smith lost in the face of the unfamiliar demands of the foreign confines with his lack of tactical awareness.

Reverse swing has become such a weapon in Asia, yet a respected purveyor of it in Mitch Marsh was rarely bowled. The spinners were largely ineffectual with number one Nathan Lyon standing out for his continuations of erring lines that so stood out in Dubai two years earlier. But no fields were set compelling him to bowl in the desired manner.

The lack of guidance set Smith up for inevitable failure on his first tour leading in Asia bringing with it question marks of his immediate role of Captain. That’s only continued with the team’s struggles continuing at home. It also disrupted the group as seen in the breakdown of the Lyon and Smith relationship and the spectre of Dave Warner lurking in the Captain’s shadow.

The mention of Warner touches on the one consistent during Lehmann’s time as coach.

With the early parts of his tenure symbolised by preaching attacking intent and being free-spirited in play for all with Warner given an obvious license.

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Only to have the head coach deflect a bit of heat by criticising Warner’s shot selection in the first innings in Hobart.

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