Cricket benefits from buck-ing the system

Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer walk out onto the ground – AAP Image/Jenny Evans

Not too many years ago, 250 runs was a pretty handy score in one day international cricket. Five an over to get, put the screws on the other mob, and hope they buckle under the pressure of the pursuit.

1999 – enter John Buchanan, one time ordinary Sheffield Shield cricketer, seven games for Queensland, 160 runs, average 12.30, highest score, 41. Wickets – nil.

One of Buchanan’s first initiatives, as the newly appointed national coach, was to dissect the performance of the high achieving, already dominant team he inherited. It had worked pretty well when he was coaching Queensland (you might have forgotten, he was at the helm when the Shield drought was broken) – why not at the next level?

Buchanan divided the playing group into four – group one would look at the way the team played, group two, how they trained, group three, how they wanted to be perceived out in the market place, and the remainder, the cultural boundaries in which the group wanted to operate.

Some of the old guard were left scratching their heads. How do we want to play?, asked wicketkeeper Ian Healy in group one. We want to play hard of course.

We want to smash the opposition.

Buch asked them to drill down a little deeper. What were the specifics? How many runs in the day? Quickly, the Test benchmark was set at 300, but if that was consistently achieved, the bar would be reset a little higher – 350. One day internationals – the target was six an over.

A run a ball.

Very quickly the Australian team blueprint took shape, with clearly defined, measurable goals in a range of key performance areas. Victory targets were set, starting off with individual matches, spilling over to individual series, to number of consecutive victories, and finally, consecutive series victories.

There were challenges everywhere, team and individual, Juggling, pilates, poetry, public speaking, all manner of things were introduced to drag players out of their comfort zone. One player likened the Buchanan coaching style to a smorgasbord. Everything was laid out on the table, you could pick and choose depending on your ‘œappetite’.

Some gorged, others nibbled.

Warnie? He took one tiny bite, and spat it out. Nothing fancy for him. Baked beans and vegemite on toast was his go.

Buchanan had (and still has) his detractors, plenty of them, particularly the old school, who claim he was only successful because he had plenty of good cattle at his disposal. Right place, right time.

Good cattle?

No question. A paddock full of them, but there are also countless examples of teams in sport and business that have been riddled with outstanding individuals, and yet for one reason or another, have failed to fulfill their potential.

Digging a little deeper, it is also true that people tend to criticize what they don’t understand.