The Hindu : To achieve something, a vision is needed: Buchanan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 27, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

To achieve something, a vision is needed: Buchanan

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE June 26. Pushing the horizon remains John Buchanan's favourite hobby.

The Australian cricket team coach believes that there are no limits to achievement. And his belief has found a firm expression in the Australian team, that is busy following the deep imprint left behind by Sir Don Bradman's `Invincibles' and Clive Lloyd's men of the 1970s and 80s.

"You may be tall or short, fat or lean. All of us have our limitations but there are no limits to what we can achieve. And to achieve something, we all need a vision,'' said John Buchanan during the course of a lecture on `Managing-champion-teams' here on Wednesday night. The lecture series spanning across the country was conducted by the HSBC Bank.

The man, who has an air of a high school teacher, said, "I often observe children and I am interested in their dreams. Sadly when we all grow up, our thoughts often turn negative and our dreams lose their possibility. The need is to have a strong vision and then set up a process by which that dream can be achieved. When I took over as coach, after Geoff Marsh quit following the World Cup triumph in England' 99, I had a meeting with the players and I mentioned the need for a vision. I said that we are a good team but the vision is to be a great team. The need was to dominate, to set up an aura and we did that precisely in the recent World Cup. I wanted that aura to linger long after the match was over and the players have left,'' said Buchanan.

Buchanan also dwelt upon the importance of planning. "We planned for this World Cup for the last three to four years. We began with the process of identifying players who will last for this World Cup. And in the last twelve months, we got our combination. It also meant that we had to take tough decisions. The selectors believed that Steve Waugh may not have the same force of personality both as a player and as a captain in the one-dayers when the World Cup came around. They dropped him and it was a hugely unpopular decision but in the end, the results vindicated them,'' said Buchanan.

And in an instance of mixing memory with desire, Buchanan stressed that tradition is a glue that holds Australian cricket together while modern techniques also help the side make rapid strides. "Wearing the `Baggy Green' is something very special for the Aussies and that is the reason why we believe that we always have to field our best Test side. People may question the reasons behind selecting a full-strength side against Bangladesh. But it all boils down to the tradition of wearing the baggy green. Once Mathew Hayden after being dropped said "You guys have wrung my heart out". That's the passion we associate with the baggy green, its our link with the past and it keeps our great cricketing traditions — as old as 120 years — alive,'' said Buchanan.

On the need for keeping abreast of modern techniques, Buchanan said, "before the World Cup, we trained under American baseball coach Mike Young and we improved our throwing and other fielding techniques. It was a big help. We believe in staying ahead. When Clive Lloyd unleashed four fast bowlers in the 70s, he dictated the game's future. He set a trend that was difficult to emulate. And the present Australian side would like to similarly stay ahead and create the trends essential for dominating cricket,'' Buchanan said.

The Aussie bandwagon did suffer the odd stumble. The defeat against India at Eden Gardens and the recent loss against the West Indies at Antigua, hinted at a few chinks that often blur the Aussies aura. And the coach did agree that performance-blips do exist and he had his reasons

"At Kolkata, we were so obsessed with the result that we forgot the process of creating victory. We had taken a good lead and in the Indian second innings, we grabbed four wickets including Sachin's without conceding many runs. And then our players were so caught up with the final result that they did not take adequate measures when Rahul (Dravid) and Laxman had their partnership". "Similarly in the West Indies, the team, admittedly tired for the last match, got struck with the final result and with McGrath playing on emotion rather than on skill, we lost the plot. I firmly believe that if you are process-driven rather than being result-driven, the results are bound to follow,'' said Buchanan.

Buchanan also mentioned the dangers of letting the ego run amok. "A coach is a servant. He should not have any ego. I as a coach do understand that if I carry my ego I may have a conflict with the players and their support staff. Conflicts do happen at times but they are based on our philosophies towards playing the game. And philosophies may differ, that's okay. But if we fight on ego, it does not help anyone,'' Buchanan said.

The dreamer in him refuses to fade. "I believe that in the next World Cup, multi-dimensional players as opposed to multi-skilled players, will have an important role. Multi-dimensional players are those who can bat and bowl both right and left-handed while multi-skilled guys are players like Andrew Symonds who bats, bowls and fields well. But he is essentially a right hander. Imagine if he could also play left handed? Well that could pose problems for our rivals,'' Buchanan said. The Australian coach is busy with his dreams. And in his vision `dreams never die.'

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport