Play on, play hard

I had planned to watch the World Cup cricket final at home with a group of friends who were serious followers of the game. However my wife and I were dragged along to a party hosted by a bunch of rich Pakistanis at a palatial Karachi home. Since Sri Lanka was in the final and I was the only Sri Lankan known to the hosts, my presence was deemed essential.

Big wide screens were set up at several locations in the house along with bar counters offering the familiar “therapeutic” brews. There was “disco” music and a dance floor with an ultra wide screen type display projected on the wall. Guests could “dance the night away” while watching the World Cup cricket final.

A special room (with bar) was set up for the serious crickets buffs, and that is where I retreated abandoning my wife! I grabbed an ice cold beer, toasted the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and settled down and waited for the rain delayed match to begin.The Aussies won the toss and opted to bat first. I eagerly awaited the coming dual between the aggressive Aussie batsmen and the talented Sri Lankan bowlers. Surely, Vaas was going to swing, Malinga was going to terrorize and then Murali was going to bamboozle them.

Unfortunately, the Aussies did not play fair! Gillie went on a rampage! Although the Sri Lankans managed to restrain the rest of the formidable Aussie top order batting line up, Gillie ran riot!

The Aussie score of 281 for 4 on the rain restricted 38 over innings was a huge target. Now Sri Lanka, you try and get that, but guess what? We got the rain and bad light to cheer you on!

I suspect that the visiting fans from “down under” hired a Rastafarian voodoo charmer to agitate the weather God! When Jayasuriya and Sangakkara settled in and the score stood at 100 for 1, I thought we were going to get there (just wait until Jayasuriya goes berserk as well)! Indeed the room assigned for the cricket “freaks” was full. The party goers wished to get away from the distraction of the dance floor and disco music. Very soon the crowd was cheering every scoring shot. Everyone was rooting for Sri Lanka.

Sadly this was not Sri Lanka’s day. All the blessings and prayers of fans back home did not help! They lost, but can carry their heads high. A talented, colourful and sporting team ably led by Jayewardene got the whole cricketing world excited and cheering for them (apart from the Aussie fans of course!).

Give credit to the Aussies. Surely they were worthy champions displaying superiority in all departments of the game. They would have dominated the World Cup even if their three top batsmen and bowlers were kept out of the team. One should ask the question, what is behind this awesome display of dominance?

There are no secrets. Just the application of modern management and technical expertise to a team of talented individuals who train hard and are subject to a Darwinian law - perform or else!

Physical and psychological conditioning of the players, building of team camaraderie and application of modern technology is quite prevalent. Computers, video imaging for action analysis, bowling machines, specialized gyms, etc are common fare. Tactics and strategies of opposing teams and the individual players are also closely studied - know thy enemy before you go to battle!

The frontline group of players are picked from a pool that emerges from a fiercely competitive school and league system. Talented and motivated individuals are processed through training academies and centres of excellence. The financial rewards for attaining success are a major source of motivation. The end result is clear!

Now consider the demise of the Pakistan cricket team. Even though there are talented individuals in the national team, an organizational set up that grooms players from school to club and national level is non-existent with national team management politicized and weak.

The players that took control of the team thought that collective religious worship and the power of prayer would help them beat the infidels of cricket! The former Pakistan captain (Inzaman ul Haq) had significant authority. Yet player indiscipline and petty politics was rife.

Outside the player circle, there were national players of the past who criticized the hiring of foreign coaches. They also questioned the use of weights for physical conditioning with one former Pakistani player and coach stating in the press that Pakistanis did not adapt well to weight training. He also derided the use of computers.

How about the cricket set up in Sri Lanka? Thankfully, it has all the attributes necessary to challenge the dominance of Australia. It is a “sports crazed ” nation with cricket the most popular. It has a large talent pool drawn from a very active school and club cricket programme with plenty of playgrounds and facilities available. The need to bring the best expertise in the world to coach the national team is recognized by all those that have an influence on the game.

However, there is one cultural aspect that may hinder the continuous production of Aussie type “cricketing combatants”. Sri Lankans are very superstitious and many cricketers and enthusiasts indulge in quaint and harmless cultural practices.

One needs hard nosed coaches and administrators of the game to ensure that these practices do not overtly influence and impede the process of developing fiercely competitive players for building a world class team. While individual players may indulge in acts of superstition to put them at ease, they should not be burdened by it. I hope we do not come to a stage where a coach has to counsel a player because he was advised that it is an inauspicious time to go to bat!