More than 100,000 students are currently studying a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in India and the way Mickey Arthur, Pat Howard and co. want to manage Australian cricket, there could be a case for making MBA mandatory to all Cricket Australia’s contracted players.
The banning of four players for not submitting a report seemed odd at first but if the Argus Review is to go by, this could be a trend Australian cricket is set to follow.
The Argus recommendations are based on running a professional company rather a cricket team, so delivering presentations has suddenly become a standard management procedure.
At the time the review was conducted it seemed like a bright idea but since it was implemented the cricket team has faced its toughest period and the blemishes in the report are becoming exposed.
Further reading also illustrates Australian cricket’s plan to imitate the program run by the England Cricket Board (ECB).
It advocated the shift from a laid back, fun loving, and tough on-field cricket to the English style of methodical approaches and proficiency.
Perhaps it is a just the nature of modern day sport that demands for such approaches but it also probably stops the development of natural cricketers such as a Merv Hughes, David Boon or even a Darren Lehmann.
It, rather, promotes multi-skilled cricketers such as a Glenn Maxwell or a Steve Smith.
Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey were specimens of the old culture and while their presence still existed, so did the traditional Australian culture. But since the retirement of Hussey and Ponting, the new policies of the Argus review have taken over.
One has to wonder how many weeks Andrew Symonds would have been banned for his marathon boozing session in England or how many times Shane Warne would have been suspended for not submitting reports.
The feedback was also an essential part of the John Buchanan regime but even Shane Warne didn’t become a victim because Buchanan was a terrific one-to-one coach.
The homework saga is a perfect example where the players have been punished for minor discrepancies in the cricket as a whole and displays poor player management.
The constant goal-setting and task-management is yet another reminder Cricket Australia is driving the game into a business organisational style approach.
If the coach needs feedback about team performance from individuals, shouldn’t it be done via one-to-one basics in the team’s room rather than through expecting some formal documentation?
Then it became clear it was not just a one-off instance and other factors, such as not wearing the appropriate training gear, also contributed to the four players’ suspension.
Once again, this is not a business and the only presentation players should be judged upon is the runs and wickets they contribute.
The Argus Review also hinted injured players needed to be managed in a different manner and the new strategies derived by the new administrators have become an international laughing stock.
The injuries and the rotation policies are part of this new procedure which were never suitable for Australian cricket.
Peter Siddle bowling in the current Test series is prime example.
Instead of playing Shield cricket leading up to the Indian tour, he was advised to practice in indoor academies with temperature set to replicate the Indian weather conditions.
The result is there to be seen – Australia’s go-to man has struggled to make a dent in the Indian batting order.
Furthermore, as Michael Clarke seems to be the only one to shine from this program, what will happen if he loses his magical touch?
It is no doubt Clarke has created his own dynasty with his recent form but even Mr Argus will tell you a CEO of an organisation can fall downhill as quickly as he rose.
Luckily Clarke’s batting and captaincy has shown the way, but the minute it declines the long term goals set in the Argus review could need an overhaul.
Having a past cricketer as an administrator and having an Australian coach might be the start the team needs.
gregory210
Guest
The problem is power-mad Michael Clarke who should not be either captain or selector. He is not a team player. I wouldn't be surprised that when offered the captaincy he demanded to also be appointed as a selector. No previous captain has been a selector, due to the obvious conflict of interest and loss of team morale it would cause. Let him bat - he doesn't need to be captain or selector to do that.
archie bacon
Guest
Who should replace Howard, Somebody from a cricket background otherwise from say net ball admin. got to be better than Rugby background, Inverarity, any body that is more interested in saving test cricket in australia, Arthur anybody from Australia with a baggy green hat and Sutherland any body!
M.R. Somasunderam
Guest
I believe someone like Mark Taylor or Steven Waugh will make an ideal coach of the Australian team. Even Justine Langer might not be too bad, but I believe Taylor as coach and Ian Chappell as CEO of Cricket Australia will be ideal, with Darren Lehman as the assistant coach will be a good idea, because they know the culture of their men, which I sincerely believe Arthur does not know at all, even if he does pretend that he does. This is my candid view and opinion. In conclusion, these changes will be more productive and fruitful for the Australian men’s cricket team and squad altogether.
M.R. Somasunderam
Guest
I believe the Australian women’s cricket team is in a much better position than the Australian men’s cricket team because of two individuals who are Mr. Clark and Mr.Arthur. It is a very unfortunate and sad indictment, but if this has to change, the coach has to only coach the team, not dictate to grown up men how to do things. In fact if I can remember, when Mr. Arthur got the opportunity to coach the Australian men’s cricket team, he stated to the press and media that the ‘coach and captain have to lead the players as herds’, which he has put in practice in India literally. I feel sorry for the gown up men who make up the team who are looked upon as children by Mr. Arthur ably supported by Mr. Clark. In conclusion, if Cricket Australia does not step in and stop this foolish approach and attitude, no culture will be established, except the culture enforced by Mr. Arthur and Mr. Clark, which is their own music.
sheek
Roar Guru
Yeah AdamS, Today's players might be getting paid a handsome wage, but the intrusiveness into their daily lives must be irritating as hell.
AdamS
Roar Guru
It's not just about developing the skills. If you were a young talented bat would you nessecarily want to put up with all the politics and KFC Assistant Manager HR policies and "team building" exercises wrapped up in the baggy green when you could just waltz off to the 20/20 here or in the IPL and make a decent living? Look back at most or many of the players in the last 30 years who,made Australia great and name the ones who would have put up with this level of over the top pseudo Managment? Not many I bet.
sheek
Roar Guru
Good read gavjoshi, judging by the 2,500 plus visitors. I feel the same way about the Baggy Greens as I felt for the Wallabies. The problems run deep & go beyond the national team. While talent & skill levels are part of the problem, it has been exacerbated by the actions of the governing body, in this case Cricket Australia. In recent seasons, especially the past two, CA has concentrated on making as money as possible from T20 cricket. In the season just past, it twisted the structure of the season quite impractically, which had a severe effect on the ability of fringe players, & even regular test players, to prepare properly for test duty. Quite naturally, players themselves, especially the younger ones, see the money to be made from T20 as being far too easy to bother with developing skills for the longer forms of cricket. It's evident from watching the Aussies these past few seasons that the skills required for test cricket have slipped alarmingly. The Sheffield Shield is no longer a steady barometer of talent. The leading players no longer compete in the shield. Resident Roar expert Spiro Zavos said not so long ago something along the lines that "any sport that has making money as its only objective, deserves to fail." At present CA might be making a bucket of money from the BBL comp. But it might well be at the expense of a test cricket future. Unless of course, they start paying attention to the Sheffield Shield again.
sheek
Roar Guru
If only we could find the secret 13 herbs and spices that go into a successful cricket team.....
brother mouzone
Guest
well said st luke
The Gospel of Luke
Guest
It was always a bit fishy that they had Don Argus Chair the review into Australian Cricket. Argus is a succesful businessman but how that translates to the Cricket arena is anyones guess. Someone needs to be putting the blowtorch to James Sutherland. He has been the Captain of the Titanic the whole while and seems to always escape any scrutiny by going under the radar. It just seems the whole of Cricket Australia is an old boys club that is all about protecting their cushy jobs rather than bettering the sport in this country.
AdamS
Roar Guru
Lets stop with the half measure. Just let Colonal Sanders take over as both CEO and coach and feed them all more Milo. This isn't sport anymore, there is a corporate image and valuable marketing brand to protect, and the owners really need to be more hands on to ensure they get what they want.
DonIsGood
Guest
The last paragraph sums it all - "Having a past cricketer as an administrator and having an Australian coach might be the start the team needs"
B Gillard
Guest
Bring back Ian Chappel if he would considr a return for two years, could you imadginea player going to Chappel saying "Ive got a sore foot or a strained shoulder of a bruisded heel" or something quite minor, Whilst I recognise we have moved on past the mid seventies Chapel would more than likely have said go back to the horel, pack your gear and be gone by the time I get back to the hotel. He'd find a replacement from some junior either in the coutnry where he was or fly one out rather than tolerate the "baby fluff" that these soooks who are grossly overpaid judging against their peformances are producing. I feel for a couple of these young blokes (mostly bowlers) who are "putting in" but how many overs did Lilleee, Pascoe, Thommo, Hughes, McDrmott, McGrath and so many morte that could be listed bowl with some niggling injury and without complaint. I'm the first to achnoweldge cricket modelling and scheduling has changed, I don't clsim toi be an expert in modern day cricket management but for some that I had more than adequate respect for are "more tha ruining this game" as for Pat Howard who the hell is he and what were his stats a a player and what does he actuallly know about the game. C/mon get ris of this lot at the top and get back to basics. What's gping to really be the embarrassment of the decade is the English tour, thyen the ignominity of that is we will be hosting them here almost straight after. I can only hope we see more rain than was around in the das of Noah's arc.