Once upon a time a bull spied a frog in a pond. Seeing the bull, the frog declared, “I will become larger than you!” Smilingly, the bull watched as the frog became larger and larger. With one final effort the frog took a breath and popped. The arrogant frog perished striving to become better than others.
This summarised parable displays all too well the folly of arrogance, the quality of having an exaggerated sense of your own abilities or opinions. It’s the opener who goes out and tries to belt sixes off every ball because he doesn’t rate the opposition bowling. It’s the basketball player who averages 50 points per game while his teammates barely crack ten because he doesn’t think his teammates are as good as him.
The reality is that arrogance exists in every sport all over the globe. Dominant individuals and teams tend to become more arrogant than people or sides that win close games. My biggest fear is that the current Australian cricket team is becoming arrogant.
The team displayed arrogance by refusing to endorse their coach. Nobody with or without the resume of Justin Langer deserves to be treated in the way that he was treated. Winning Big Bash League titles with the Perth Scorchers, a T20 World Cup and a home Ashes series 4-0 and presiding over a drawn Ashes series in England is no mean feat. For some – probably only two or three senior players – to say in effect, “We’re too good for your ways and methods and want somebody who will cater more for what we think we want” is at best self-entitlement if not downright arrogance.
Langer’s coaching style will continue to be a matter of discussion, but the abrupt nature of his eventual resignation and the total lack of support from the team left a sour taste in the mouths of most serious cricket fans. It revealed that the players believed that they were better than the system rather than buying into the system to continue to produce greatness. They wanted I Did It My Way without being Working Class Man.
The team also displayed arrogance through the way in which they mocked their opposition on the final day of the Pakistan series. Despite the media playing it off as simply ‘good fun’ from Usman Khawaja and David Warner, the reality appeared that it was a couple of guys mocking the batsman on his way out because they were on top.
While I’m sure the act was nothing more sinister than just having a go at someone, making fun of the way in which a person celebrates is either a sincere form of flattery or is simply arrogantly asserting your authority over them. Considering that the mockery did not come in either of the drawn Tests indicates that there may have been some kind of arrogance in this.
The new leadership style under Pat Cummins demonstrates that the team is supremely confident in their mastery of their respective games. While for the most part Cummins has led with and displayed admirable sportsmanship towards both friend and foe, the moments above left a sour taste and demonstrated that perhaps, insofar as his on-field work is concerned, Cummins may be getting too big for his britches and that attitude has rubbed off on the team.
It remains to be seen how the Australians play the rest of their series, but let’s hope it’s more the signs of arrogance so far are misleading.
HR
Roar Rookie
They mimicked Sajid Khan and Hasan Ali's celebrations respectively when their wickets fell. It seemed to be in good fun to me, I guess you could see it as mocking if you were predisposed towards that view.
matth
Roar Guru
True.
Short Arm
Roar Rookie
So Langer's legacy as a coach stops immediately he finished. Surely all the work he put into the team in the lead up to this tour counts for something? You can't say Cummins/ MacDonald did it all by themselves.
Short Arm
Roar Rookie
Australian farmers are the least subsidized in the world. Sure they get some help in drought times but you urbanites get subsidized all the time in terms of public transport & health facilities etc.
Keith Griffen
Guest
Wait until after the India and SA series. That’s the only teams that can challenge Aus home and away.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Pushing to move Langer on is hardly a sign of arrogance anyway. We know there were internal discussions on his style and he accepted the criticism publicly, promising to try and make changes. That sounds like a team striving to be better and looking at all contributors and challenging them to improve. Not even close to arrogance
ntn001
Roar Rookie
No!
Sedz
Guest
You guys aren't done yet? Pretty much I expect this conversation to heat up in upcoming India series even its 6+ months away :-) Oh no we have SriLanka coming up soon.
Akitas
Roar Rookie
Absolutely agree. I am sure Cummins has told the new coach what he expects of him, and assured him he will stab him in the back if he is not happy with him.
Martin
Guest
"left a sour taste in the mouths of most serious cricket fans" It's arrogance to assume that most 'serious' cricket fans agree with your Langer persecution complex, or read another way, that only fans who agree with your position must be serious. I could counter with some arrogance of my own and suggest that a truly 'serious' cricket fan would understand the nuance and complexity of the situation with Langer, and accept that perhaps as a coach he could have both strengths and weaknesses, and that the players position could be reasonable given the circumstances, despite the popularity of Langer with the general public and his place in the great pantheon of Australian cricket mythology.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Had to look it up :silly: ...but yeah. There's no legs to the assertions in this article at all.
HR
Roar Rookie
I feel that Betteridge's Law applies here...
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Amazing. I'll see if l can get it on my son's technology Wonderwall. I'm house n dog sitting for over 3 weeks. He might even have sport channels or whatever they're called.
Ace
Roar Rookie
A bit harsh to say they were arrogant. More happy in their triumph in the third test and when you are in the act of winning little things are taken as arrogance by some harbouring a grudge. Just blowing it out of proportion I feel. Winners are grinners. Losers.....
Magpie
Roar Rookie
Hardly pessimistic, if farmers continue to plant crops every year, not knowing what the weather will bring for that year.
Clear as mud
Guest
it's on Stan McCabe I think. i went to a proper theatre at the time. how about that?!
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Is that a streamed film?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I'm with Zooey Deschanel now. I had to let Emily go.
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
My childhood was spent on a farm. I hated it. One of the most galling aspects of it was the cheerful optimism of not just my family but virtually everyone in the district. Even if they were pessimists they were ever hopeful. It was farm mania. I just wanted to play cricket and footy like the town kids. Not too many subsidies that I can recall but the old tax deductions went a long way.
Hutcho
Roar Rookie
I find this a pretty strange angle. I cannot recall a touring Australian side conducting themselves this well in over 30 years, especially in Asia. They look to have fully embraced the experience over there with a good attitude, there has been no ugly incidents or sledging, they have engaged with the crowd and been excellent guest. Likewise the Pakistan were wonderful hosts. A few cheeky wicket celebrations doesn't undermine that. As for Langer, in my opinion it was time to move on. Australia were playing their best cricket after Langer yielded control at the players behest. The Ashes and T20 WC wins all happened after Cummins sought more control over the team and the direction it was going. I haven't enjoyed watching Australia this much since Border - Taylor era. Most of that is down to Pat Cummins and the dignity he brings to the role and the absence of false bravado and arrogance of the last 20 odd years.