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January 1, 2004, the day after Andy Bichel had been dropped from the Australian Test cricket team for the umpteenth – and almost certainly – final time, he found a one page fax under the door of his Sydney hotel room.
“Andy, just wanted to say how much I enjoyed playing alongside and against you throughout my career. You’ve inspired many people with your attitude, dedication to the team, and X factor that you bring to any team environment … you always put the team first, and have always enjoyed your mates’ success. As a captain, it would have been a dream to have 10 of you, and that’s the highest compliment I can pay anyone. All the best, Tugga.”
Steve Waugh’s words of praise for one of his at times unheralded foot soldiers poses an interesting question: exactly how hard is it to balance up personal ambition with the broader ‘team’ agenda?
Some are unabashedly self-centred and self focused. It works for them. They make no apologies.
Others pay constant lip service to putting the team first, the great team fabric, and son on, but in the back of their mind, they know if they don’t perform as individuals, they won’t be part of the team environment.
If push came to shove, there would be elbowing to get through the gate first.
Other sports, like football, clearly demand the highest level of teamwork and co-operation on the field, but the contributions that individuals make behind the scenes can also have a strong impact – both positive and negative.
Do they spend time building up a teammate low on confidence, do they abide by the team’s total alcohol ban, do they dwell on a teammate getting paid more, do they have their agent shop around for a new contract mid-season when there’s every chance it could become a distraction?
Talk to any long term successful coach, and you’re likely to hear the words ‘discipline’ and ‘sacrifice’; ‘doing what you know should, when you really don’t want to’; and ‘casting aside personal preference, for what best serves the broader group’.
Bichel calls them the “one percenters”.
Like driving across town to pick up some new gear for a teammate, or staying behind for an hour after training to fetch footballs for the team goal-kicker.
Or perhaps even waiting patiently in the dressing shed to sing the team song, when there’s clearly other places you’d like to be.
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