The Ashes 2013: Can Boof do what Mickey couldn't?

The kind of news doing rounds about a team is often a good indication of how the team is doing on the field. Its all hunky-dory when the team is on a roll; but during bad times, the ugly stuff comes out. The Australian team is certainly in the latter category now. Anyone who doesn’t follow cricket could be forgiven to believe that the Australian team is all about managing players’ injuries, doing your homework at the right time and punching the baby-faced member of the opposition in the darkest hour of the day.

For a generation that grew up watching the Australian team decimate the opposition, their current state of affairs is almost surreal. After the whitewash in India, bowing out of the Champions Trophy without a single win was simply unacceptable. Surely something had to give. A stern action from the higher authorities was almost inevitable. But even in the prevalent tumultuous weather, the sacking of Mickey Arthur as the head coach came as a surprise; certainly the timing of the decision.

Sacked Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur speaks to journalists during a press conference

During the homework gate controversy, Arthur faced a lot of flak from former cricketers for his tough stance, but got full support from the team management and Cricket Australia. They backed his methods of running a young side which was obviously short on talent. Considering the backing Arthur had from the men who matter, his ouster just a fortnight before a marquee event was shocking, to say the least.

Arthur’s strict disciplinarian act was also contradictory to his usual self. During his tenure in South Africa, he remained very much in the background. Along with seniors like Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, he formed a core leadership group and kept difficult characters like Herschelle Gibbs in check.

In Australia, he had Ricky Ponting and Micheal Hussey in similar roles. But after their retirement in quick succession, it was left to himself and Michael Clarke. In an ideal world, he would have wanted the likes of Shane Watson and David Warner to step up and take responsibilities; but as it turned out, they were among the ones found with their hands dirty. It left Arthur with no choice but to be the stern enforcer of the young side.

But tough stances and strict regimes are like a double-edged sword. While it can be useful in instilling a sense of self-governance and discipline into a bunch errant youngsters, it can also have an adverse effect on a group of men with inflated egos. Someone like Watson clearly looked a misfit and unwanted in the Australian scheme of things during the Indian tour, but did wonderfully well with both bat and ball when allowed to play in a more conducive Rajasthan Royals setup.

The players will surely feel more at ease with Arthur’s replacement – Darren Lehmann. The former Australian left-hander batsman is a product of the old robust system, and believes that cricket is a game of runs and wickets. There will no doubt be a place for the video analysts, the performance analysts and the dietitians, but major emphasis would be on the basics of batting, bowling and fielding. He is the quintessential Aussie who exemplifies grit and determination on the field and knows a thing or two about unwinding after a hard day’s work.

Outside the boundary line, the ‘homework’ will give way to other fun stuff to bring in the enjoyment factor that Lehmann talked about. For below-par performances, there is also the ‘Boof spray’ – his version of the hairdryer treatment. Of course, all this will be done over a large carton of beer.

More importantly, his on-field credentials will certainly command respect from the players – something that Arthur never enjoyed. Given the way the Australians are batting at the moment, they might even ask him to pad up bat at number 5!

Apart from having a good hold on the technical aspect, he is also regarded as a good communicator; someone who can motivate people and coax top-grade efforts out of them. Even though he has never been in charge of an international team as a coach, he has handled teams as varied as Deccan Chargers, Queensland and Kings XI Punjab. Such is his reputation that the experts who didn’t hesitate to label Michael Clarke’s team as the weakest Australian team to travel to England are now suddenly wary of the Aussie challenge.

But to think of him as an Ashes savior would be a mistake. As he gets down to business, he will find there’s a lot to be done in very little time. He can make all the plans and draw the battle lines, but what happens on the field wont be in his control. Ultimately it will boil down to how the eleven players selected on the given day perform on the field.