There comes a point in the lives of all cricketers and teams as well when they are not performing as well as they should. Sometimes, it means that good players are not giving their all. At others, it means that nincompoops constitute the team. And when the latter situation comes about, non-cricketing aspects start to become more important. That's a sure sign that the team is on the downward road.
The New Zealand team has no stars in its ranks but has cultivated the reputation of being a hard outfit to beat simply because they give their all. This was noticed soon after Steve Rixon took over as coach. But that seems to have worn off, and rather soon too. The team now seems to be having its share of problems and the focus is on non-cricketing aspects. Like players who have a ball at night.
Chris Cairns and a couple of others were roasted a bit after the second Test loss to England. Their crime was keeping late nights . It is difficult to say if they would have played any better had they been in bed at a Christian hour. Indeed, it is impossible to do so. The only thing that is sure is this -- when the focus starts to move from the field to a player's hours, then the team is definitely not going to be the better for it.
There are examples aplenty. Former West Indies skipper Richie Richardson was woefully short of form when he came back to skipper the team after taking a break from the game. He was an inefficient batsman and hence could not pull his weight in the team; he could not captain the team as he had before. All of a sudden, the West Indies started having discipline problems. The Benjamins, Winston and Kenny, were among those who suffered. Hooper reacted and so did Lara. The team slowly came apart. Richardson was finally forced to quit. After some time spent looking for non-cricketing reasons to hide his own inadequacy, the man had to go.
Sir Gary Sobers was one of those known for his love of fun and he has admitted to even staying out of the team hotel on occasion while on tour. But he did perform the next day even if he slept while waiting for his chance to go in. It didn't matter much to him, this business of sleep. He was in a class of his own to be sure, but the point is that to him what a player achieved on the field was the important thing.
Discipline sure is important for a team. But when it comes to the point where the time a player goes to bed counts more than the runs he scores, the wickets he takes or the catches he grabs, then we are looking at a rather funny way of rating efficiency. A man does not get a place in the cricket team because of his habit of brushing his teeth after every meal. He is allowed his share of eccentricity -- and some of the greatest players have been the most eccentric of the lot.
Disciplining cricketers as though they are school children is bound to backfire in the end. Cairns is among the volatile lot and once walked out of the team, apparently because he was injured. He is arguably the most talented among the current lot of players in the country. He needs a captain who can treat him with respect and get the best out of him. He does not need a school marm who watches him like a hawk and notes what time he gets in. Even if he does get about a bit, the approach has to be different. Fines and the like would only be counter-productive.
New Zealand has just started the process of rebuilding a team after a great deal of overhauling. There were dismissals aplenty and a greenhorn was made captain. There has been no undue reason to be disappointed but some cracks have begun to show. The team needs to stay focused and concentrate on its showing in the field. It is difficult to expect a bunch in their mid-20s to behave like old men. There are non-stop tours and matches these days and that makes it all the more difficult for players to cope. The argument that one should get out of the kitchen if one cannot stand the heat does not always hold water. It would be wiser to give them the occasional break.