Brain-washing New Zealand's cricketers
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
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New Zealand's cricketers run a form of "personality training" whereby the team are split up into groups to describe eachother, according to Richard Boock in the Sunday Star Times.
This is the much-trumpeted forum that as told in Nathan Astle's just released autobiography includes a session in which each player has to leave the room while the rest of side break into groups and dream up adjectives to best describe him, and a few things they believe he should try to brush up on.
Apparently the brainchild of a former Australian school teacher, the supposed aim is to improve the relationship-dynamics between the players, therefore imbuing the squad with a greater sense of trust and, as a consequence, helping to achieve more success on the playing field. That's the aim, anyway.
However, if you talk to Astle who describes it as personality training (not a long way from attempted brain-washing) or any number of genuine conflict-management specialists, they'll tell you it's an astonishingly naive system, lacking in any academic appraisal and with the potential to cause more damage than benefit.
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It's true, Imran Khan was arrogant, Ian Botham was irresponsible and Javed Miandad was dangerously intemperate but I can't recall any complaints about the quality of their performance. Same goes for Shane Warne. He wouldn't have won any prizes for balanced thinking, but do you think his team-mates cared?
Maybe you only have these quack-fests when you have a struggling team.
Will Luke is assistant editor of ESPNcricinfo