South African cricket from a new perspective

I've asked Paddy to pen a few words updating you on what has been happening over the past weeks. Over to Paddy...

Paddy: Since the last post, both Gary and I have been through a period where the learning curve has sufficiently steep that it's resembled an overhang. We have just had dinner together at the hotel in Ahmedebad, where we reflected on the past 2 weeks. I thought I'd share some of that conversation. Talking about dinner, or Indian food more generally, let me start by answering probably our most frequently asked question; "so how are you finding the food?" My two most favourite foods are South and North Indian (the jury is out on which tops the other), which at home my wife cooks probably every second day. I now get to eat it 3 times a day, actually more if I count the snacks, so I am as happy as a Paddy in an Indian restaurant.

Gary is a bit more of a pasta and braai-guy, and it's been fascinating to watch him fast becoming a chilli-loving vegetarian... and he claims that he's really getting hooked. Although he still fancies the ice-cream dessert rather than the delicious Indian desserts that I am yet to learn how to spell, never mind pronounce.

Probably more significant than talking food is the fact that we've just been beaten in a Test match by the South African team, by players who we know well, and many of whom have been Gary's team-mates and clients of mine. Naturally this was one of the topics of reflections over dinner.

We both confessed to initially having some anxiety about meeting the SA players in India, wondering what it would feel like to be greeting them from the opposition bench. The first time we met, wearing opposing team colours, was at a function celebrating Anil Kumble's 600 test wickets.

To both of our pleasant surprise the meeting was as natural and comfortable as it has always been before we donned the Indian colours, no discomfort, no awkwardness, and no ill-feeling - the latter which we didn't really expect anyway.

And what does it feel like to be planning and putting our every effort into beating our home country? The truth, for both of us, is that with every part of us we want and are willing India to win. The disappointment of defeat at the hands of the South Africans in the last Test burned us as much as it did the Indians.

It hurts. That said, if six months ago someone suggested that we would so badly want India to beat South Africa in a Test match, we would have seriously wanted to know what that person had been smoking.

Pondering this change in allegiance, the simple equation is that this is a part of the global and professional world in which we all live. CEOs move from one company to a competitor next door, rugby/ cricketers/ soccer players move from one province/ country to another, and coaches move from one team to another.

While the late Bob Woolmer, who Gary and I both worked with, was an English test cricketer who coached SA and Pakistan, it was Duncan Fletcher, a Zimbabwean, living in South Africa who was coaching England, Woolmer's home team?

Research into how the human mind thinks shows that patriotism and professionalism are found at different levels of thinking. Certainly in Gary and my situation, we have experienced this that we have been able to take a fully professional approach, one which dictates that we want India to win. And one which as South Africans we have become surprisingly comfortable with - in fact Gary's four-year old son Joshua spent his time here in India wearing the Indian cricket supporters shirt. All he wanted was that dad's team would win.

On the field of play there is no inch asked nor given between the teams nor coaching staff, and off the field, both Gary and I have shared the usual good relations with the SA players and their coaches, particularly with Mickey Arthur and the effervescent Goolam Rajah, the SA team logistics manager whose work is legendary in the cricket world.

"How have you found India?" is another question the layman/ pressman has asked us a lot. India is a fascinating place, it has a fascinating array of cultures and the people are in general welcoming, gentle natured, friendly and full of smiles.

Where ever we drive in the team bus, I can't help staring out the window at a sea of the worlds broadest smiles that are projected by every women, children, adult and aged as their hero's pass. When they hear the sirens of our escort vehicle, people coming running from their shops, homes and balconies with cell phone cameras waving wildly, hoping to get a picture, a glimpse or even a wave from someone on the bus.

It is a huge privilege they bestow upon these cricketers, to receive such admiration and support from so many people, miles more so than any of the other cricket-playing nations.

In the last few years since our last visit, when we both wore SA cricket colours, the much spoken about fast emerging economy is evident. Roads seem better, hotels are more and better, cricket facilities are improved, it is easier to travel and make your way around as a foreigner... and even the amount of English spoken seems to be more than before.

All this adds to the excitement and anticipation of being here for the next two years. Not only are we only slap-bang in the middle of the cricket hub of the world, but we really get the sense that we are in an exciting and energetic economic hub of activity.

Despite being 1-0 down in our first series as coaches of the Indian team, the future looks bright - at the same time we are under no illusion of the work that is required.

I guess every parent, businessman, teenager, student, manager, coach, leader at some stage are going to find themselves in tough circumstances - the middle of the fire, as we find currently ourselves. Both of us can certainly feel the heat, but are not getting burned. How?

We are sticking to what we know works; ensuring that we leave no stone unturned in our planning and preparation; that we create open and honest lines of communication with all the players and support staff; knowing that most of the answers to what needs to be done exist within the system, that we remain centred and clear-headed whilst balancing short-, medium-, and long-term thinking.

The focus remains on quality and not quantity, and that each player and support staff member takes ownership of personal responsibility, accountability, pride in performance, and 'laying their body on the line'.

Regardless of the result, if everyone can go to sleep at night knowing that they have given their 100%, then that is all the coaches and fans can ask. It is a big ask, but it goes with the territory. And it is the same for anyone wanting to get to the top of big pile, which is one thing ... and to stay there and consistently succeed, which is another.