How important is it to be focused?

Sports

How important is it to be focused on what you do? I don’t mean only in cricket but in everything we do! To concentrate on what you want to do, to be aware of what your ultimate objective is and to know how to get there and also to be aware of the resources you have and the strengths and weakness of both your camp and of the opponents and not forgetting the importance of achieving the ultimate goal are part of the strategy of being focused on the what is in hand.

I am sure every Captain, Coach and Team will be in that mind set when they arrive for another big event in Cricket. The T20 World Cup in England!

Having that in mind it was only a few days ago we saw how poorly the West Indies performed in a Test and ODI series against England and demonstrated to the world the importance of being focused.
I am in no way saying that they were the favourites. But at least what the cricket world would have expected to see was healthy competition. Mind you the West Indies had beaten England in a hard fought test series only a few months ago and had narrowly lost the ODI series and that too after putting up a great fight. In fact the final ODI was anybody’s game as the series was locked one all. Now how would one explain the meek surrender of the Windies after such a strong showing back home against shall we say a slightly weakened English line up which had to do with out the top all rounder in the world Flintoff during the full series and one of the top batsman in the world in Pieterson in the ODI’s? There could be many reasons for that given.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has brought a new lease of life to Indian cricket while the West Indian captain Chris Gyle has lost his focus.

Blame it on the English Conditions, May be on the inexperience or simply accept that England were far superior. May be all these claims have some merit. But to me I would put it down to just one Main Reason. And that is the “Windies in England had lost their focus”! When I say Windies I would want to point a finger mainly at the captain Chris Gayle.

Cricket is a team game and the captain is a very big component of it and naturally the rest of the team would look to him for direction, strength and guidance!

But on this tour I didn’t see the inspiration a captain had to give its fellow members from Gayle. Firstly his delay to arrive on time for preparation was a strong message as to where his priorities were, which was not the ideal start to the series from a West Indian point of view. Secondly his statement that he doesn’t enjoy Test Cricket anymore wouldn’t have been what the team members wanted to hear at that point of the tour. Imagine the thinking of a young cricketer on his first tour, when his Captain says that Test Cricket is not important any more! I am sure his world would have crumbled at that moment! Why was the West Indies in England then? What was the purpose of the players being there? Surely those would have been thoughts of some of the players!

To my mind this statement clearly emphasized the thinking of Gayle and his attitude towards playing for his country and also would have to a huge extent influenced the rest of the team too. It is true that players are professionals and will look for money when and where they can earn it. But I don’t think it is the correct path to take when one is representing his country! Nothing should come between that. It should be the aim of every player and the main reason of motivation to perform!

Unfortunately Gayle’s actions seem to suggest differently. And the rest as far as the series is concerned is now history. The Windies have suffered two humiliating losses in both forms of the game.

I believe strong team spirit lends to a team being focused on what they do. The correct and inspiring leadership and the support from the rest of the team have always been factors of good and strong teams. Some of the examples we could touch on are the former Australian Captain Steve Waugh and the current Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni.

Having watched Steve Waugh from very close quarters especially when he was touring Sri Lanka, I can definitely understand the key to the success of his team. The work ethics they put in -- be it conditioning or simply skills development and then their approach to a match were just unbelievable. Their team discussions too were always very professional and to the point and there was no real surprise when the Aussies swept the board before them under Waugh.

Another very strong point that emerged from the “Waugh factor” and his time at the helm of Australian Cricket was the contribution and the leadership he provided. There have been many time under Waugh, where the Aussies have been fighting with their backs to the wall, and the inspirational leading from the front attitude of Waugh had emerged then either with an absolutely fantastic innings or blinder of a catch or some great tactical input.

Dhoni though still relatively new to the captaincy has been able to mould an Indian outfit which bordered greatness with their “blow hot blow cold” attitude in to a winning combination. He has definitely taken Indian cricket to another level and you could recognize the body language in the team which confirms how they respond to their captain. Now let’s not forget the players he had to captain! He had former captains in Dravid and Ganguly and the veteran Anil Kumble in his team! Despite such tough personalities present, Dhoni has emerged a winner! Why? It is his commitment to what he is doing.
Positive attitudes of players to their leader aren’t built overnight. It derives out of respect they have for him, and commanding that respect is never easy and some times given grudgingly. If so how do you command such respect as a captain? Do what you have to do correctly. It was no surprise that once the former Australian Opener Mathew Hayden had said that then Australian team wouldn’t think twice if Steve Waugh wanted them to go through a brick wall! Very strong sentiments indeed! But genuinely said stemming from the deep respect one has to his leader, which only confirms what good leadership and strong commitment can get. And how do you be a good leader and be committed to the team? Being focused on what you are doing!

Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator

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