The Hindu : Greg Chappell and Lillee sign off in style

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 01, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Greg Chappell and Lillee sign off in style

By Our Sports Reporter

Chennai June 30. Learning never quite stops in cricket. And the process continued for some of the finest coaches in the country even as the MRF Coaches seminar concluded, here, on Monday. It was also a time for reflection.

Aussie greats Greg Chappell and Dennis Lillee admitted that they too had taken back something from the three-day affair. "The seminar was a commitment to cricket coaching,'' observed Chappell. Lillee added, "it was a great exchange of information.''

Terming the exercise a success, Chappell said, "I got a tremendous amount of satisfaction from the three days at the MRF.''

It was once again a day, when these exceptional men shared their knowledge with the audience. Chappell stressed on innings building skills. "Take one ball at a time. Be prepared, focussed. Play the ball on its merit.''

Pre-judging a delivery would spell doom for a batsman, said Chappell. "But if you get a half volley first ball, you should hit it for four.''

Chappell travelled back to his days in World Series Cricket, where the West Indies, with a battery of four fearsome quicks, who could achieve steep bounce, provided the batsmen few scoring opportunities - "You would get frustrated and that was their game plan. It was like torture.'' Chappell revealed he overcame the problem by setting himself "small targets.''

It was criminal for a batsman to be at the crease for an hour or more, make 30 or 40, and then get himself out, Chappell said. "You could have the best cover-drive in the world, but if you do not know how to build an innings then you have a problem.''

He emphasised on the value of `Light touch', where a coach does not become overbearing on a player that would cause "doubts, anger and fear.''

Lillee dwelled on the technique of fast bowling; the virtues of the right grip, the correct approach, the proper sighting of targets and the ways of bowling on different surfaces.

He also provided a fascinating insight into planning and plotting a batsman's downfall. "Geoff Boycott loved to leave the ball as much as possible. I bowled three deliveries wide outside the off-stump, going further away, and then got one to nip back and it bowled him.'' And in the pre-helmet days, the biggest signal from a batsman "was the look in his eyes!''

Warning against the overuse of technology, Lillee said, "in the days gone by, the mind was our computer. It was a bit more accurate than the video.'' Said Greg Chappell, "video analysis should be controlled by the coach. It should not become the coach.''

Marc Portus, biomechanics expert, stressed on the methods and techniques that would enable the pacemen avoid injuries, the back problem being a particular area of concern. Dave Misson, fitness trainer from Australia, shed much light on what has now become an extremely important aspect of cricket, and sports psychologist Dr. Sandy Gordon expressed more of his views on mental toughness.

In the press meet that followed the seminar, T.A. Sekar, chief coach, MRF Pace Foundation, said "The National Cricket Academy (NCA) started three years back and it is better to work in close quarters with the NCA.'' He was pleased at the fact that so many NCA coaches attended the seminar here. MRF Pace Foundation's Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Cricket Board had also benefited the cricketers, he noted.

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