The presence of former Queensland wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe in Bangladesh last month as Australia’s fielding coach has led to recent reports that Mike Young has been removed from the position.
The reports have yet to be confirmed by Cricket Australia, but if found to be true, it would represent a sad turn of events, as the fallout from Australia’s World Cup performance continues.
Young was initially part of an innovative move in 2000 from former Australian coach John Buchanan to revolutionise cricket’s approach to fielding. Coming to the national team with a history in baseball, he was responsible for improving the side’s catching throwing and positioning techniques.
Though Australia was arguably the best fielding side during the late nineties, Young found several flaws, in particular the wasting of energy throughout a match. During an interview for Cricinfo Magazine in July 2007, Young said that he saw “fielders in the ring take five to ten steps towards the batsmen,” and told Buchanan, “why don’t you take three steps and time it better? So when the bowler releases the ball, you’ve only taken three steps. By the end of the day, they’re going to save a lot of energy.”
He stayed with the national team until 2005, when his contract was not renewed, but a decline in fielding standards during the ill-fated Ashes campaign saw him reinstated.
He worked as Australia’s full-time fielding coach up until 2009, and has been used sparingly since.
Though it can be argued that there have again been signs of decline in fielding standards over the last couple of years, which was particularly evident in the recent Ashes loss, is it really necessary for Cricket Australia to get rid of all forms of stability?
It is a transitional period for Australian cricket and perhaps Seccombe could bring new ideas and methods to a new generation of cricketers.
He was a terrific wicketkeeper during his playing career and was unlucky to have found himself in the same era as Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist. But his chances of success have to be questioned when the actual problem with recent fielding can be attributed to an obvious decline in talent, rather than coaching abilities.
When Young was in charge, he was working with highly talented fieldsmen, led by Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds.
From the current crop of young cricketers, Steve Smith can be identified as the only one that even comes close to those three in terms of ability. Although the talent pool is undeniably smaller, Young at least has a decade of experience, which he can call upon to further develop Australia’s fielding skills.
Surely this experience and a proven track record count for something? Possibly a dignified and respected exit from the national team set-up?
It is no secret that Cricket Australia is looking to create a completely new dynasty, with an inexperienced side that are led by a new captain in Michael Clarke.
The apparent appointment of Seccombe clearly fits into their plans of reinvigorating the team.
But rather than blame the long-time fielding coach for a side who has failed to live up to expectations in all departments, the axe should fall on those who have and continue to make administrative mistakes.
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