Ted Dexter's proposals for the future of English cricket (24 March 1999)

24 March 1999

Ted Dexter's proposals for the future of English cricket

ER Dexter

Once again our cricketers have flattered to deceive in Australia. There were moments of glory, of course, but too often the key passages of play went against them and the result of both the Test and One-Day International series came out predictably badly. If we start looking for something or someone to blame then we will still be arguing the toss next Christmas, so it may be more productive to make some positive proposals for the current captain, Alec Stewart, to consider.

1. He should understand that the captaincy of England is not a popularity contest, not with his team, not with the selectors, not with the England supporters and definitely not with the press. The only way to give satisfaction in all these quarters is by inspiring his men to win more cricket matches than they lose.

2. He should therefore start to make his own rules of conduct which all around him ignore at their peril. As did Douglas Jardine, Len Hutton and Raymond Illingworth, who succeeded where he, Alec, has just failed. If Illingworth had not put a personal bomb under John Snow, those Ashes would never have been won.

3. This means setting himself sufficiently apart from his players, and especially from the large supporting cast of backroom men and women, to allow him to lay down the law without fear or favour. In this vein I recommend that he spells it out once and for all to Graeme Hick that just one more soft dismissal, hitting the ball airily into waiting hands early in an innings, will be his last.

4. If he has not done so already, he should read all there is to know about man management and getting the best out of each individual. It is always a matter of carrot and stick and the sooner he is sure in his own mind of who responds best to which, the better it will be for all concerned.

5. He must debunk immediately the idea that Test matches are won by increasing dollops of team spirit and togetherness. It can surely be taken for granted that everyone backs each other for the common good. But it is contrary to all evidence to talk about 'building partnerships' as a recipe for more effective batting than England managed this winter. What is needed is for individuals to take personal responsibility for their performance, as did Geoffrey Boycott in 1970/71. To take another example, Pakistan's victory over India recently in Calcutta was due to one man, and one man alone: Saeed Anwar, with his 188 not out.

6. There needs to be serious discussion about the whole matter of individual risk taking so that it is more of a crime to stay in a rut than to try to break out with some really imaginative play. The captain more than anyone must be seen to be leading in this respect by his attitude to the opposing batsmen on the field and by encouraging his bowlers to trust their own judgement in how best to unsettle them. Nothing has done more harm to the prospects of taking 20 Australian wickets in a Test than that much repeated phrase 'bowling in the corridor of uncertainty'. Uniformity of approach amongst bowlers is a certain way to ensure big scores.

7. Alec is the only person who can resolve the vexed question of the team coach's role. Whatever the organisation, there must be only one boss and in cricket that person must be the captain and nobody else. Nothing causes me more real anguish than to hear that it has sometimes been left to the likeable David Lloyd to read the riot act to a player or to the whole team after a particularly disappointing performance. The captain should offer his resignation if it is not agreed that the coach is his right-hand man, no more, no less, and only operates under the captain's direct control. No more television appearances, no more newspaper articles and lots more time in the nets - maybe just picking up the balls!

8. It goes without saying that just a very few sessions spent under professional tuition in front of a television camera would enhance Alec's personal standing and that of his team considerably. He has a nice, straightforward approach when it comes to the content of what he has to say but there are improvements to be made in delivery, and every extra smile he can muster will definitely be worth its weight in sound-bytes.

9. A trip to Las Vegas is definitely a must. There he will meet very peculiar people who will swear blind that there is more to tossing a coin and simply calling heads or tails if he wants to have first choice of innings. Exposing himself to professional odds players could break his current miserable run with the coin.

Source:: The Cricketer International