Training camps undergoing a metamorphosis
by Partab Ramchand
DateLine: 5th September 2006
S Venkatraghavan never tires of telling this story – and with good
reason. It appears that during the Indian team’s tour of Australia in
1985-86 the former Indian captain was sitting with Don Bradman who
decided to visit the ground on the eve of the first Test at Brisbane.
The players were doing calisthenics and all sorts of exercises. Venkat
who was the Indian manager turned to Bradman and remarked about how
things were very different in the thirties and forties and asked how
players of his day kept fit. Bradman looked at Venkat and in his
inimitable whimsical manner said ``We kept fit playing cricket.’’
Some 20 years down the line if Bradman were still around to see for
himself as to how teams prepare for various tournaments and tours the
great man would be flabbergasted. The good old days of the players
confined to practicing at the nets and the coach giving them fielding
drills seem to be gone forever. These still exist but have somehow been
relegated to the background. Training camps are becoming more
specialist by the day. Innovations and unorthodox methods are the order
of the day. Thus we have the Indians having a ``rolling’’ or an
``ideas’’ camp at Bangalore while the Australians preparing for the
grudge Ashes series against England are undergoing a ``boot’’ camp in
jungle conditions on the outskirts of Brisbane.
India's preparation for the season has been characterized by coach Greg
Chappell motivating his wards by innovation - staggered sessions
involving one group at a time. During the week long training camp at
the National Cricket Academy Chappell divided the 15-man squad into
groups of five. Clearly the idea was for the coach, who turned 58 last
month, to devote personal attention to each. As Chappell explained
``this rolling camp is about developing individual players, so by
making them better we can make the team better. I want to give the
players as much variety as possible. If we do the same thing day in and
day out, we are not going to do much as a team or as individuals."
According to Chappell the small number of players per group also gave
him chance to work on specific areas for each player.
In addition, Chappell utilized a bowling machine that delivered balls
from a considerable height. As he divulged, "There are certain teams
around the world who have height in their fast bowlers. We have to
simulate as much as possible". Yes indeed simulation and innovation is
the mantra these days as far as training is concerned. Chappell was of
the view that a couple of days with each batch was enough underlining
that it was quality that mattered and not quantity.
The players have been quite enthusiastic about this new approach. Vice
captain Virender Sehwag for one has been effusive in his praise about
the camp saying that such innovative training methods are ideal
preparation for the upcoming season and next year's World Cup in the
West Indies. The coach found another votary in his training programme
in Yuvraj Singh who said that ``it is about learning about yourself as
players and about improving.’’ Yuvraj’s good buddy Md Kaif was no less
keen. ``I have never experienced something like this camp before. We
interact with the coach and the captain and as players we get a chance
to know each other better. In the long term this camp will definitely
benefit us.’’
Chappell also emphasized the need for flexibility. ``Everyone is
looking to play their role well and the roles can change from time to
time, from game to game and from opposition to opposition. It’s a
matter of being flexible and to be able to adjust to different
conditions.’’ That explains his penchant for experimentation.
The camps prior to this focused on physical conditioning and mental
toughness. The last camp held at Bangalore just prior to the team
leaving for Malaysia was hailed as ``an ideas camp.’’ According to
Chappell ``It's important to take ideas from everybody. Many times only
the captain, vice-captain and the coach hold discussions, but other
players also have good ideas. "
Thousands of miles away the Australians, preparing themselves for
anything England might throw at them in the coming Ashes series,
emerged from five days in the bush with a team spirit they believe will
make them hard to beat. The country's 25 leading players, backpacks
filled with army rations and carrying cans filled with water, slogged
it out as part of coach John Buchanan's team-building designs.
Buchanan's pre-season ``boot camp’’ as it was called started with the
players donning khakis and being split into groups of six with army
rations and survival exercises. The four-day adventure was planned to
challenge the nationally contracted men and involved bush tasks in the
hinterland of Queensland's Gold and Sunshine coasts that included the
Beerwah State Forest, which is an hour's drive north of Brisbane. The
focus during the camp was on team building and to ensure the squad is
physically and mentally strong in preparation for an important summer
that includes the Champions Trophy, the Ashes and the World Cup.
Cricket Australia insured their 25 contracted players to the hilt but
according to Dave Gilbert, the New South Wales chief executive the four
days out in the wild were designed to be challenging rather than
dangerous. "There were methods in John's madness," said Gilbert. ``It's
probably what the team needs at this moment in time. The players are
very well paid. They basically lead an almost rock star existence, stay
in five-star hotels and are feted around the world. To have it tough
for a few days won't do them much harm at all." Thus we had the rather
unusual images of Ricky Ponting pushing a van in the jungle or a couple
of players carrying jerry cans of water.
At the end of it all Justin Langer hailed the unorthodox `boot camp' as
an uplifting experience. "I've seen human spirit out there and for me
that was very uplifting. It was an awesome learning experience for all
of us," Langer said. "We were taken completely out of our comfort zone.
Little sleep, little food, no mobile phones, no contact with your
family. We didn't have a bed, we didn't have a shower, we didn't have
anything," the left-handed opening batsman added.
So is it all hype or is there a method in the coaches’ madness? The
fact remains that cricket is changing all the time and this calls for
training methods to be altered as well to suit the period during which
the cricketers are playing. Fitness levels are extraordinarily high and
the competition at the international level is at its peak. Cricket is
no more a seasonal game; it is now played round the year. All this
calls for drastic changes and hence the need to try out something new
in training and coaching methods. Gone are the days when a team was
accompanied by just a manager. Now besides a coach there are half a
dozen personnel who are experts in various fields. As former Indian
cricketer Chetan Chauhan said in an interview to a national daily last
month: ``The team these days is like a bharaat.’’ Where all this will
end is however a moot point.
(Article: Copyright © 2006 CricketArchive)
