In his latest column, Eric Simons takes notice of the poor fitness levels of local cricketers, as well as taking another look at the seemingly disjointed Australian side.

The Australians now look like an outfit that really is lost and in desperate need to restore some pride. Defeat to a team like South Africa is one thing but, with the greatest respect to the Black Caps, to go down two nil in the first two One Day Internationals against New Zealand must have really caused panic stations. I just do not see anything in the squad announced for the up coming tour of South Africa that suggests the summer?s defeats were just a minor scare which is soon to be rectified. We may well have seen a major shift in the balance of power in the world of cricket.

Ricky Ponting has always been fortunate to be able to rely on a few individual performances to pull his team out of most tough situations and his leadership style has always appeared to be more about 'do as I do...' rather than brilliant tactical nuances or words of inspiration in dark times. He just does not seem to be able to cope with the inability of his team to pull things right and while he was talking about the Proteas being lead by a committee through the One Day Series, the situation seems far more prevalent in the current Australian team.

I spoke last time about being calm and controlled because of a situation rather than because of an inner strength and it was interesting to see the relaxed smiles return to the faces of Ponting and his team as they dominated the third match of the series. At least now we know those faces are the result of an external situations being in their favour rather than because they possess some inner strength that brings belief in themselves even in the toughest of times. I wonder if it will be some time before we see the Australians look and act like world champions again ? when the chips are really down. I certainly hope the Proteas management is not writing the Australians off but they could not have predicted in their wildest dreams coming into the home leg of the series with such a huge psychological advantage. Now is the time to make it more permanent.

Local cricketers out of shape

While our international program is on hold I have been doing some commentary on the Standard Bank Pro20 series and something that has struck me is the number of franchise cricketers obviously not in the kind of physical shape that you would expect from a professional sportsman. I find myself having to remind the cricketers I coach that while playing for your representative team ? country or franchise ? is a huge privilege it also comes with huge responsibilities.

I often wonder what a cricket supporter would be prepared to give up or do to be able to run out to play for their favourite cricket franchise or South Africa ? even for just one match. I truly believe that every time we play a representative match as cricketers we owe it to not only to ourselves but to everyone of those that dream or wish that just once it could be them walking in front of a capacity crowd to perform. We should never take that privilege for granted.

Somehow that notion just does not seem to stick with so many cricketers. Cricket has got to be in one of the most exciting phases of its evolution currently and the potential rewards available today are so staggering you would have been called crazy if you had predicted them just 5 years ago. So why do we not have young cricketers having to be dragged out of the nets or from a fitness training session because they know you only get one chance in this life and they don't want to waste the incredible opportunities their life is presenting them.

Can you imagine that some of the cricketers you watch and admire simply do not give their all when playing or preparing for a match? Well it is true. They need to be chased, managed and encouraged at every turn. They are blessed with talent but in the drive and dedication department they lack incredibly. As coaches we are often asked to look at a young cricketer and to give an opinion on whether they can make it as a professional. Duncan Fletcher always had a great response to the question. He would say: 'I could watch him play for hours but unless I understand his character I would have no idea. You can put a limit on a cricketer with talent but you can never put a limit on a cricketer with guts.'

Training for different reasons

I have found that cricketers really train for three reasons. The first is because there is a rule in place. So if they are made to be at a fitness session or if their strength and fitness is strictly monitored they will do the required work. When the rule is removed they stop working.

The second are those that do it for reward. They will do the work but the question they really ask is 'So I need to come to extra training sessions ? well what?s in it for me ? what am I being paid extra to do the extra work?' No extra reward then no extra work.

The third category cricketers are the ones you can build a real team on ? they are the ones that do it because of who they are. If you paid Gary Kirsten R10 000.00 or 10 cents he would work just as hard ? because that is who he is.

Watching the series has confused me ? so we may want cricketers that do it just because of the kind of person they are but with the kinds rewards around how is it possible we still have cricketers not giving it their all. JP Duminy was just auctioned for R 10 million in the latest IPL auction ? that is amazing ? but what is more staggering is that Tyron Henderson (if you do not know who he is Google his name ? he is South African) received R 6,5 million.

If for no other reason then please just do it for the reward. If you don't want it ? please step aside and give someone else who will really appreciate what you have a chance.

  • Do you agree with Eric's sentiments? Let us know what you think below, or email Eric at ericsimons@primediaonline.co.za with any additional comments or questions.