The Last Word
Rajan Bala
Consistency in selection hallmark of winning sides
March 16, 2008
India's Test captain, Anil Kumble has made no secret of his intention to take his team to the top, the recent Australian experience having given him the required motivation. Always a keen student of the game and its history, he would not have to be told that the hallmark of winning Test teams is consistency in selection, with all successful selection committees being reluctant to experiment in a hurry. Blooding a promising youngster in the company of stalwarts is all right provided the concerned selection committee is cent per cent sure that the new lad would fit in.
When Clive Lloyd made his Test debut (1966 in Mumbai against India) he got his break, because the reliable Seymour Nurse was indisposed. The bespectacled Guyanese took the opportunity with both hands and there was no question of him looking back. It was not to take many years for him to become the West Indies captain, and arguably the most successful one ever.
Of course, such exceptional talent is not something that is available at short notice. Like in the case of Sachin Tendulkar, who was not quite 17 years old when he was picked to tour Pakistan. Indian cricket owes the selection committee that picked the prodigy a massive debt. Though it was taking a chance with one so young, there must have been a consensus among the members of the committee that such talent cannot be denied. Interestingly, when such prodigies force their way in, they do not disturb the settled order of things. They just fit in.
For Kumble, the fact that he seems to have a settled Test combination must be an incentive. And, the message that needs to be sent to aspirants is that is that getting into the playing XI will demand a very special effort. The purpose behind a settled XI is to allot each of the players a specific role.
The winning and superior Test combinations have shown this common and identical trait and, after getting used to winning — making a habit of it — the players begin taking difficult situations in their stride. These teams at times might be down but are never out. A survey of the number of times the outstanding West Indies teams of the Eighties and the Australian teams of later decades have fought back are indications of their confidence and self belief.
But then, this emanates from consistent success and this is where Kumble's reading of the happy situation, the Indian Test team is in at present, is spot on. The showing in the Test rubber in Australia has convinced him that the players on his shortlist have the wherewithal to compete against the best. But then it is up to him with the support of the selection committee to make all the players, even the oldest or the youngest, realise that a permanent place in the playing XI is not guaranteed on the basis of past reputation.
In a way, Kumble knows this feeling of temporary insecurity too well because there have been a few times that he has not been in the playing XI in a Test team, the choice being between him and Harbhajan Singh. He is thus in a position to advise a youngster who is disappointed by a temporary setback to come back more strongly. This applies to Yuvraj Singh, who for all his much publicised potential, has been struggling to unsettle Sourav Ganguly in the Test batting order.
The captain of the greatest Test team ever, Australia's Sir Donald Bradman made no secret of the fact that to get into the playing XI a player had to be special. I heard this from Neil Harvey, certainly the best left-hand batsman the country has produced. He went back to talking about the 1948 tour to England when he was one of the youngest in the party. Not making enough runs in the preliminary games he asked his chum and teammate, Sam Loxton to check with Bradman as to where he was going wrong. Bradman told Loxton, "Tell your young friend to keep the ball along the ground if he has to come good."
Bradman did not make it easy for Harvey. For three Tests he persisted with Bill Brown by pushing a regular opening batsman into the middle order. There was no way Brown could be accommodated as an opener with the regular pair being Barnes and Morris. Brown, who had an enviable career, also realised that his days at this level were numbered, and was most pleased that Harvey took his place in the fourth Test. And with a century to show, Harvey made the place in the playing XI his permanently.
Kumble and the selection committee could make a start with the South Africans led by Graeme Smith. Beating them comprehensively would go a long way in emphasising that the gains of Australia are long term and that Kumble is the flag bearer of the new aggressive and combative Indian Test cricketer.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
When Clive Lloyd made his Test debut (1966 in Mumbai against India) he got his break, because the reliable Seymour Nurse was indisposed. The bespectacled Guyanese took the opportunity with both hands and there was no question of him looking back. It was not to take many years for him to become the West Indies captain, and arguably the most successful one ever.
Of course, such exceptional talent is not something that is available at short notice. Like in the case of Sachin Tendulkar, who was not quite 17 years old when he was picked to tour Pakistan. Indian cricket owes the selection committee that picked the prodigy a massive debt. Though it was taking a chance with one so young, there must have been a consensus among the members of the committee that such talent cannot be denied. Interestingly, when such prodigies force their way in, they do not disturb the settled order of things. They just fit in.
For Kumble, the fact that he seems to have a settled Test combination must be an incentive. And, the message that needs to be sent to aspirants is that is that getting into the playing XI will demand a very special effort. The purpose behind a settled XI is to allot each of the players a specific role.
The winning and superior Test combinations have shown this common and identical trait and, after getting used to winning — making a habit of it — the players begin taking difficult situations in their stride. These teams at times might be down but are never out. A survey of the number of times the outstanding West Indies teams of the Eighties and the Australian teams of later decades have fought back are indications of their confidence and self belief.
But then, this emanates from consistent success and this is where Kumble's reading of the happy situation, the Indian Test team is in at present, is spot on. The showing in the Test rubber in Australia has convinced him that the players on his shortlist have the wherewithal to compete against the best. But then it is up to him with the support of the selection committee to make all the players, even the oldest or the youngest, realise that a permanent place in the playing XI is not guaranteed on the basis of past reputation.
In a way, Kumble knows this feeling of temporary insecurity too well because there have been a few times that he has not been in the playing XI in a Test team, the choice being between him and Harbhajan Singh. He is thus in a position to advise a youngster who is disappointed by a temporary setback to come back more strongly. This applies to Yuvraj Singh, who for all his much publicised potential, has been struggling to unsettle Sourav Ganguly in the Test batting order.
The captain of the greatest Test team ever, Australia's Sir Donald Bradman made no secret of the fact that to get into the playing XI a player had to be special. I heard this from Neil Harvey, certainly the best left-hand batsman the country has produced. He went back to talking about the 1948 tour to England when he was one of the youngest in the party. Not making enough runs in the preliminary games he asked his chum and teammate, Sam Loxton to check with Bradman as to where he was going wrong. Bradman told Loxton, "Tell your young friend to keep the ball along the ground if he has to come good."
Bradman did not make it easy for Harvey. For three Tests he persisted with Bill Brown by pushing a regular opening batsman into the middle order. There was no way Brown could be accommodated as an opener with the regular pair being Barnes and Morris. Brown, who had an enviable career, also realised that his days at this level were numbered, and was most pleased that Harvey took his place in the fourth Test. And with a century to show, Harvey made the place in the playing XI his permanently.
Kumble and the selection committee could make a start with the South Africans led by Graeme Smith. Beating them comprehensively would go a long way in emphasising that the gains of Australia are long term and that Kumble is the flag bearer of the new aggressive and combative Indian Test cricketer.
Republished with permission from The Asian Age
