MacLaurin To Restore England Brand Name (7 Mar 1997)

7 March 1997

MacLaurin to restore England brand-name

Mark Nicholas sounds note of caution after winter tour

IT MAY be that with hindsight the 1996-97 winter tour to Zimbabwe and New Zealand will be viewed as a watershed for English cricket, the time when even the most optimistic observers, the most parochial supporters and the most conservative administrators came as one to agree that enough was enough.

Whatever the pleasure and pride in two impressive Test victories, in Wellington and Christchurch, the focus should remain on the fact that against the two weakest international teams, England played five Tests and won two, and played eight one-day matches and won only two. Progress perhaps from previous winters but by no means enough progress to earn a reprieve for the system which spawns the players.

If this sounds hard on the team who fought back so well in Zimbabwe to completely outplay, if not completely outdo, New Zealand then so be it. The players reflect their mediocre cricket education and the muddled thinking of their board, who are still unable to decipher the conflict between county and country.

Until the interests of the national team are the No 1 priority on everyone`s agenda; until itineraries, preparation and supporting casts are geared towards giving the team the best possible backup, the players will carry the can for the administration. This is not to say that the players are blameless, far from it at times in Zimbabwe, only that strong leadership from on high is as is important for them as it is for any business or government, and that leadership has been missing from English cricket for too long.

Lord MacLaurin, the chairman of the England Cricket Board, was in Harare and was shaken by England`s all-round - on and off the field - lack of application. Equally he was in Wellington and was quite skittish with delight after the convincing win. He spent most of his time talking, to voices he valued and to others that he needed on board, collating and storing opinions.

Sometimes he gave advice, just occasionally he gave direction. Always he spoke out for the team and their management, as he must when they are at work for him, and all the while he gave a lesson in communication and determination.

It may be a coincidence, though it is probably not, and the effect may have only been on the subconscious of the touring party but England looked a different set of men after MacLaurin arrived in Wellington, more comfortable and approachable off the field, more focused and passionate on it. This was the case before the Auckland Test but they lost their way again after the nightmare last afternoon and then during the poor effort against New Zealand A in Wanganui which followed.

After Harare the chairman had spoken with the team, and they had arrived in New Zealand with more spirit than the doubters who awaited them expected. After Wanganui, and prior to the Wellington Test, MacLaurin again met his subjects and again the subjects performed with spirit and were now reacting with dignity.

It could be coincidence, and the positive, supportive influence of the management team in these two tour revivals should not be underestimated or forgotten, but it is likely that the England team responded to leadership and encouragement from a man of substance, a chairman they could trust.

If Lord MacLaurin is denied his own mind, he will leave and give its benefit elsewhere. For this talented chairman to take his influence beyond the team and into the structure of English cricket he needs the support from everybody whom he chairs.

By all accounts when the champagne flowed in the dressing room after the triumph in Wellington the team sang "Let`s all shop at Tesco, Let`s all shop at Tesco, la-la, la-la. . ." They had found someone they believed in, whether they knew it or not.

The lessons of the winter are clear. Never again must an itinerary be so ill-judged as it was for Zimbabwe. Three days of net practice does not suffice as preparation. Just the idea of it was enough to allow the players to think that Mashonaland, indeed Zimbabwe as a whole, would be a pushover. Big mistake - particularly when straight out of an English winter.

Never again must a tour be put together with so little time available for the players to appreciate the country they are visiting. They should not be denied the company of their families at Christmas, and should certainly not be palmed off into thirdrate hotels; except, as in Bulawayo, when little else is available.

Never again should an English team leave home without a public and media relations expert. To see cricketers so ridiculed and to witness their own terrified, insular, sometimes arrogant and ultimately bitter response was painful. Zimbabweans who came to share - win or lose - in the first English team to visit since independence, left shocked by the apparent indifference to their welcome.

Cricketers do not always win on the field but they can recover respect by their off-duty approach. Which is much what they did in New Zealand, and they won, too, which made life all the easier. I quote from a letter sent by the manager of a restaurant group in Christchurch to the England team. "At all times England have displayed a professional attitude and impeccable behaviour befitting a national team."

So someone went to work, and it was apparent that John Barclay had cajoled his men into smiles for the camera and a more gracious response to the newspaper men.

Best of all was to see Michael Atherton smiling with victory as his reply to the scathing attacks in Africa. He is a remarkable man who has returned to his best as a batsman and is approaching his best as a tactician. Leading a team without genius, or any genuine match-winner for that matter, is a wearing business but Atherton has retained his sense of proportion by understanding that cricket is not more important than life itself, an idea his critics sometimes imply.

England achieved most of what was expected of them in New Zealand and the thorough manner of the two Test wins suggested they can push Australia closer than anyone might have thought a couple of months ago.

Credit to the captain for that and to David Lloyd who overcame his initial near-manic complexes to emerge as an enthusiastic and passionate coach with an eye for detail and an unwavering belief in his charges. These two and MacLaurin must lead, and English cricket must tread in the steps of their determination.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)