National coach Tim Nielsen is the Julie Bishop of Australian cricket – no matter what, he keeps his job unchallenged. While there has been significant scrutiny of the captain lately, Nielsen has presided over the same period of mediocrity with little recrimination.
Since the retirement of Bobby Simpson, the role of the Australian coach has evolved but not for the better. In Simpson’s day the coach was an ex-test captain who was part mentor, part ball machine and part father figure of the dressing room. However, each successive appointment has taken the role closer to that of technical director.
My fear is that statistics and plans have replaced heart and intuition as the coach’s stock in trade. That certainly has translated into the way the Australians have played, they go into series with plans in place – no doubt backed up by a myriad of video review session.
But when those plans don’t work there does not seem to be a brains trust around which can chart a new course.
You would not exactly call John Buchanan and Tim Nielsen inspirational guys to have around the dressing room. Every time you see these blokes at matches they inevitably have their head buried in their laptop computer digesting the “business intelligence”.
When a bowler returns to the dressing room after a session of busting their gut in the middle you can imagine Nielsen providing such insight as: “32 per cent of your deliveries in that session were bowled on the leg side.” Call me a luddite, but the role of the head coach or manager in any sport should surely be chief mentor, leaving such technical detail to the boffins and assistants.
Tim Nielsen and John Buchanan are not cricketing laymen, each played first class cricket – Nielsen 101 matches and Buch seven. However, what Ponting has needed is a sounding board – someone who knows what it is like to make the big calls in hostile international arenas.
In these modern times there is no doubt a role for technical review and for technically minded coaching. My gripe with having these men in the top job is that there is a whole bunch of intellectual property in the heads of retired captains and test greats which is going un-utilised.
We need to find a way to bring some of the great cricketing minds which this country possesses into a place of influence with the national side.
Any other country would kill to have the likes of Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor at their disposal. Even the highest performing CEOs these days undergo formal mentoring from those that have gone before them.
The best example of how insular the Australian cricket team has become is Ponting’s overly defensive reaction to Shane Warne’s recent twitter comments.
Ricky, a word of advice: when Shane speaks and the topic is spin bowling I would listen.
A strength of the Australian team culture is that they have always been unified behind their leader. However, like a dictatorship, the strength can also be a weakness because it does not allow for dissenting voices and a plurality of ideas.
There are some ex-Test players in the tent such as Justin Langer. However, I doubt he would ever tell Ponting his tactics are wrong. Langer’s experience was as a subordinate of Ponting’s and he continues to be a sycophant to his hero.
Tubby Taylor is the obvious guy for Cricket Australia to bring into the fold. He is almost universally respected and was one of the best tacticians of the last 25 years. If the next captain is either Clarke or Ferguson they will be verdant.
Taylor would be the perfect mentor.
Hansie
Guest
Great opening line and an even better article. I think Tubby would make a great contribution to the team.
jamesb
Guest
i hate to be negative here but if you analyse all the shield sides, this has to be the weakest sheffield shield competition i have ever seen. The quality of batsmen coming through are few and far between. People think lets give callum ferguson a go. The way he bats his like a prime candiate for lbw. Of course there is not too many spinners coming through either. Perhaps there are some fast bowlers and a couple of keepers coming through (paine,wade) I don't think it matters who coaches the team or who captains the team. In my opinion the blame goes to cricket australia for failing to produce young cricketers. I'll give you an example . Victoria: when was the last time they produce a quality batsmen? The answer Brad Hodge. He debuted way back in the early nineties. THat is close to twenty years that Victoria haven't produced a test standard batsman. My feeling in victoria is that the AFL have got victorian cricket by the short and curlies. Cricket Australia have got to sort out how their producing young cricketers sooner or later otherwise Australia will follow the west indies and cricket in this country will struggle for decades to come!
Sfinkerton
Roar Rookie
Joe, a very good point regarding Nielsen. Ex-players who were mediocre at best should not be given coaching duties in cricket. If they were no good on the field, what good are they off it? John Buchanan was an anomaly, because he had a star-studded lineup. A total clean out is what is required and unfortunately, the only way that is gonna happen is if we cop a drubbing in the Ashes, which I think will happen. Short term pain for long term gain.
Tristan Rayner
Editor
At the time Bobby Simpson did well. I think that's what is important - the step taken during that period in time. Never mind how they play now, at the time, professionalism was barely understood or recognised, and Simpson got stacks from his chargers. You might argue he stuck around too long, but the old boys who guided the team should not be forgotten!
Joe Karsay
Expert
Vinay – Thanks for your support and I look forward to your piece. Whaler – A bit harsh on Tubby, although Slats was claiming on the radio the other day that Taylor’s lack of pace between the wickets cost him a thousand test runs! Frank – I don’t think that getting the right coach for a young side with (potentially) a young inexperienced captain is “looking in the rear view mirror” but rather planning for future success. As Dickie P states the team has changed and so the style of coaching required has changed.
Frank
Guest
Joe your arguments are well articulated yet your good intentions are somewhat misguided. If the Australian Cricket team constantly continues to look in the rear view mirror for a silver bullet they'll never leave their own mark on the game. The step change needs to start with players not the coach, they need to seize their own destiny, they need to play like their careers rest on the outcome of the next over not the 2015 renewal of their ACB contract. Australian cricket teams needs to find balls not a new coach !
whaler
Roar Rookie
Tubby Taylor caoch ??? The Aussie team will all end up looking like Mark Cosgrove !
Jaques
Guest
Well said Joe. And clearly, your views are supported by many. I'd certainly prefer to see more of Tubby in a press conference after a successful match by the Aussis rather than in those Fujitsu air-conditioning commercials (even if it is "Australia's favourite air").
whaler
Roar Rookie
Joe, was Bobby Simpson really that much of a great coach ? I think back in the early 80's we were struggling for cattle like now. Bob Simpson came in there and gave them some discipline and improved theird fielding etc. Fair enough. Border was sick to death of him by the end, also being a selector as well as coach meant that many of the batsmen were inclined not to be transparent with him about their challenges. Tubby got rid of him pretty swiftly, initially reducing his input to just field drills and leaving the strategy to himself. It would be pretty daunting for a new skipper to have Mark Taylor hovering around in the background, always second guessing himself. I think we need to pick the RIGHT captain and give him plenty of confidence and say "Your the man " have a coach that can run the drills etc. As Chappeli said the best use of a coach for a Cricket team is drive you to and from the ground.
GG
Guest
Here here Joe. I think Steve Waugh would be pretty bloody good too. There is a role for technical and statistical analysis - but it shouldn't be the cornerstone of the coaching approach. Further to your article last week, if there is a lack of real leadership in the ranks then a coach as a mentor, who has been through it all before, is surely needed.
Dickie P
Guest
Couldn't agree more Joe. The likes of Buchanan and Marsh were 'successful' because they have had the Taylors and the Waughs as their leaders, with able lieutenants like Warne and Gilchrist as part of the brains trust. Now that this experience and leadership talent has left the field the need for a different type of leader, one with the knowledge and cricketing smarts to guide the dressing room through this transition period, has become paramount. Think Simpson and the late 80's. I would argue that the leader does not have to be an ex test captain but certainly they need to have significant experience at test level - the gap between first class cricket and test cricket is huge. They also need to have a presence and the man management skills normally reserved for a captain. With the likes of Taylor and Waugh available, Australia again is fortunate to have an embarassment of riches at it's disposal. Now all we need is someone at the ACB to make the right call ...
Vinay Verma
Roar Guru
Joe, I had a chat with Sunil Gavaskar just about this topic last week and have a piece in Inside Cricket which touches on the inflexibility of the Australian team when plan A does not work. There are a host of reasons for this and I have a piece for Roar readers next week that amplifies what you have written about. You are on the right track and a well written article.