‘They don’t micromanage’: Player power and modern cricket coaches

At a selection meeting for Australia’s epic 2001 tour of India, then captain Steve Waugh argued strongly for Matthew Hayden’s inclusion.

“He said to the selectors we need Matthew Hayden in the side,” recalled John Buchanan, Australia’s coach during the golden years. Neither he nor Waugh were selectors at the time. “We need him in India, not only because of his ability, but he has the character to withstand the pressure, rigours and confronting nature of an Indian tour.”

Justin Langer with the players he coached for four years.Credit:Getty Images

Buchanan tells this story in the context of delineating between the roles of the captain and coach. The coach, in Buchanan’s opinion, should be driving the overall direction of the team but with “one foot in the present, one in the future”, while the captain takes charge on the field.

If this was the divide between players and coach, it should not surprise why many players from that era railed so hard against the circumstances around Justin Langer’s departure as coach. That Langer was a close friend to them was another factor.

The role of player power in this episode has upset many of the former greats, angered by the lack of dressing-room support for Langer.

The events of the past week show how much has changed in 15 years regarding what players want from a coach, and their role in shaping the environment around them.

Langer eventually did change his methods but, from the comments made this week by captain Pat Cummins and selection chair George Bailey, it came too late to inspire faith he would not go back to old ways should the team start losing.

There is no one size fits all. Greg Shipperd, the BBL-winning Sydney Sixers mentor who previously oversaw Victoria’s domestic dominance, sees the coach as needing to be a “performer”. Equally, one person familiar with the Australian set-up has described Langer’s unpredictable ways as being like “theatre”.

Justin Langer and Pat Cummins in Hobart last month.Credit:Getty Images

“You need to display light and shade,” Shipperd said. “At times you need to be soft and caring, other times you need to be firm and direct and everything in between. Having that intuition to play that performance game with your players is part of the game.”

Shipperd, one of the most respected voices in Australian cricket, says players want from the head coach affirmation that the game plan worked, and they had the skills to carry it out.

For a modern player perspective, take recently retired Test spinner and NSW and Sixers stalwart Stephen O’Keefe. He has a saying when it comes to coaches: “They’re not the god, they’re the glue.”

O’Keefe describes himself as neutral Switzerland on the Langer issue but his comments on what he wants from a coach will resonate with players who called for change.

“They’re integral but not everything, they don’t assert authority or micromanage,” O’Keefe said. “It’s a common theme in the past. Some coaches think it’s about them, it’s their ship. You can see it in press conferences and across all codes.

“As soon as you see the coach controlling the whole narrative, the whole story, you know you’ll lose the group and support staff.”

In 14 years as a NSW player, and one as captain, O’Keefe has seen his share of successful and dysfunctional dressing rooms. The best teams he has been a part of have had a successful captain-coach pairing. He agrees with Cummins’ belief the captain should have his voice heard on the coach.

“That relationship is paramount,” O’Keefe said. “When the team environment is happy and people are on the same page you get the best out of that team.

“Should the players have a say? Yes. It’s not everything. It’s not the players to pick their best mate because he’ll be the coach who will allow them to get away with absolute murder.

“You’re picking an Australian team of trusted, well-respected cricketers who are at the top of their game. Why wouldn’t you ask who will make them a better player?”

Buchanan agrees players should be heard but says they, like many other stakeholders in the game, do not adequately understand what a coach does. He says Cummins, in asking for a calm and collaborative approach, has only a narrow perspective of the role.

Though firmly in the Langer camp, Buchanan, who enjoyed strong relationships with his captains Waugh and Ricky Ponting, was not surprised his former protégé lost out.

“You need to find allies within the group and hopefully those allies are your captain and senior players – they’re important to drive change and deliver on the vision you want,” Buchanan said.

“From Justin’s point of view, for whatever reason players, maybe support staff if we accept the media comments that have arisen, a number of those people haven’t jumped on board.

“They have resisted or not accepted what Justin has been trying to do. In the end if you don’t have the support of the captain, some senior players, and you’re meeting resistance from the CEO and maybe high-performance director then it’s very difficult as a coach given the job you have. If you haven’t got that support it becomes untenable.”

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