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To see senior players just going through the motions in the field would
have been enough to send Greg off on a search for young players who
could field
© AFP
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If there was any chance of Greg Chappell continuing his tenure as coach
of India it probably disappeared when Bob Woolmer was murdered during
the World Cup.
Such an ugly incident is sure to focus your concentration on life's
priorities. As much as it would seem that Greg is probably better off
without all the angst that comes with one of the most demanding jobs in
cricket I doubt he'll feel completely fulfilled. A perfectionist, even
one who has mellowed, is never going to be happy with under-achieving on
his expectations.
Greg's only rationale for playing cricket was to win. I can guarantee
that, because we had the same tutor: our father Martin. Greg's approach
in his latest role would have been exactly the same, to do everything he
could to help India win.
Greg is a respectful person but there is no point in trying to be like
an Indian when you've been employed because of your knowledge and
experience as an Australian cricketer.
For example, in Sachin Tendulkar's recent comments he said: "No coach
had mentioned even in passing that my attitude was not correct."
As a cricketer Greg was always trying to better himself, especially his
mental approach to the game. Improvement doesn't come without constantly
challenging yourself and also responding to the demands of your
team-mates, something that happened regularly in the Australian team.
Having seen Tendulkar struggle in recent times Greg would accept it as
part of his job to challenge the him to resurrect his batting
in order to help India win matches.
There is no point in trying to be like
an Indian when you've been employed because of your knowledge and
experience as an Australian cricketer
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That is not questioning a player's attitude, that is called striving for
improvement.
Greg was one of the best half a dozen all-round fieldsmen I've seen;
he's up there with Neil Harvey, Viv Richards, Mark Waugh, Mohammad
Azharuddin and Ricky Ponting and it would have grated that many of
India's best batsmen were slouches in the field.
To see senior players just going through the motions in the field would
have been enough to send Greg off on a search for young players who
could field. However, they would also have needed to be good at another
skill and hence his early push to get younger, more athletic cricketers
into the team.
The fact that his tenure as Indian coach was less than satisfactory for
both Greg and the team is probably a good indication that the system
producing young cricketers needs more than just a bit of fine tuning.
The day before he resigned, a "Kerry Packer"-style proposal was put
forward for Indian cricket, which suggests Greg isn't the only one who
thinks the system needs a large overhaul.
Do you agree with Ian Chappell? Tell us here This article first appeared in Mid-Day, a Mumbai-based tabloid