Digging deep Down Under

Disembarking,and spreading around the swampy outfield,a batch of fifteen boys,collide menacingly into each other for a game of touch rugby. Elastic stumps,baseball mittens and cricket balls are brought out by the coaching staff despite the falling rain. In their soaked and shining grey training jerseys,the Australian under-19 squad,prepping for the quadrangular series,zip around the field like silver bullets. These streaks of hope travel many oceans away to Sydney,penetrating the dark clouds hanging over a cricket administration. 

In Bradman-land,another Don,the wise,jowly Australian businessman Argus slash-and-burned down the rotting remains of a once all-conquering Cricket Australia over seven introspecting months. And the first roots of change have taken grip,far away from the fallen oak. Argus may have dragged in change by the throat to the way CA functions in the future,but his prophesied timeline of recovery might well have been proved wrong. The seeds have been sowed well in advance. Far from the prying eyes and intense scrutiny,following the Ashes debacle of 2010-11 which gave way to the Argus Panel,the rebuilding process has begun in a remote corner of a foreign field,the first youth tour since the report shook the old pillars of Australian cricket.

Earlier,after the once mighty Australians had lost their second straight Ashes in three years,this time in their own backyard in January,former greats — Allan Border,Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh formed a panel under Argus,in an attempt to weed out the multi-layered problems. The findings,although well known to the cricketing world,were finally out on report. The mass departure of great players,all in one go in 2007,had left a great void — one that was repeatedly and insufficiently covered up with other ageing players with no international experience.

Add to that jaded selectors and lack of young blood,and the set-up threatened to eat itself from within. While Argus’s eponymously named report did well to drain out stale blood (Chappell,Hilditch and Neilsen were sacked) the review,did underestimate how quickly young stems can sprout into muscular trunks.

YOUTH CHARGING AHEAD

Within a sprawling hotel in India’s eastern coastal city,Cameron Bancroft,the skipper of the Australian under-19 side,gathers his mates under a television. With a glint in their pupils,they watch Patrick Cummins hustle Herschelle Gibbs’s wicket in the Champions League. Cummins,an erstwhile teammate,and was supposed to be in their squad at Visakhapatnam,playing against boys his own age. But armed with terrific pace and blessed with Australia’s new policy of fast-tracking genuine talents into the senior program,the 18-year old pacer plies his trade with grown men in New South Wales Blues. By night,Cummins makes bigger news — he will tour South Africa with the national team. Australian cricket is resurrecting at the rate of knots.

Watching the action from a distance in the lobby,Brian McFayden and David Fitzgerald smile at each other. For long,in the capacity of the Chairman of the National Youth Selection Panel,McFayden wanted to witness change. Now,as the manager of the U-19 side for the Four Nations event,his agenda is simple — forget wins and losses,all that matters at this level are lads who can show a sustainable spark.

“I’m looking for uncut diamonds. This program is to help all players,but mainly to identify the best talents. And if they show right attributes,we will push them immediately into the senior program,” McFayden says. “If there is talent that extreme (like Cummins),they should be exposed to international cricket early. It’s the only way to make a good side great,by throwing in a few hot-blooded youngsters who want to achieve. They will blossom quite quickly at the higher level,” Fitzgerald adds.

But whatever happened to the system that made Michael Hussey wait until the age of 30 before he could earn his first Baggy Green in 2005? “We don’t want that anymore. Can you imagine a player of Hussey’s quality debuting at 20? He would have been a great of the game,like Sachin Tendulkar,rather than a symbol of patience,” says the restive McFayden.

The following day,everything the mentor preaches is put to test against the raging Indian side at the scenic Port Trust Diamond Jubilee Stadium. Australia’s total of 164 is overhauled in just 12 overs,but Fitzgerald,assistant coach John Davison and McFayden find a silver lining — wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson (see box). They take much satisfaction from his show. “Even if we happen to lose every game and find a talent like Peirson,it satisfies the cause of our program,” says an upbeat McFayden.

Despite the loss,skipper Bancroft too manages to see the light. “This is a wonderful platform. Of course there is the IPL and other such leagues,but how often do you get to wear national colours at such a young age? The selectors,the administration and anyone else in the know are watching us closely,” says Bancroft.

Like Bancroft’s boys,others in the current system too were scanned under a microscope. Now they are reaping their rewards. “Mitchell Marsh and Cummins are on the verge of earning their Baggy Greens. Matthew Wade,Aaron Finch,Phil Hughes,Steven Smith and David Warner are 23,not 33. We want to go back to the model that blooded Ponting,Warne,Martyn and Steve Waugh early,” adds Davison,who played for Canada because he could never make the cut in the Aussie side. 

POLISHING UNCUT DIAMONDS

In the mid-2000s,the Australians were without a doubt cricket’s invincibles. But it came at a cost. While the legends,well into their 30s,were destroying old landmarks by the day,the youngsters of that era were forced to twiddle their thumbs at the domestic level. So when there was a mass exodus of greats after the 2007 Ashes,Australian cricket nosedived like never before — owing to the lack of experience. Australia’s culture of selection too seemed to sneer at the subcontinent’s restless ‘catch them young’ policies,which was in a constant flux following every U-19 World Cup,even as their own measured system Down Under of ripening cricketers to maturity,ran smoothly.

“The difficult thing back then was there were old ageing players — such as Hayden,Langer,Ponting,McGrath and Warne — who were performing extremely well. But with every passing day of glory,the task of repeating their feats in the future became ever-so-bleak. And once they did go,they left behind a void. We can’t let that happen again” says Fitzgerald. “For that,we need to be a lot more strategic with how we go about our cricket and TID (talent identification),and that has got to start early,right from the under-19 days.”

Two days after the drubbing loss against Indian juniors,Bancroft leads his side to their first win with a hundred. Humbling the West Indies by 137 runs,the gold and green jerseys celebrate joyously,but the team management still manages to keep their goals in perspective. “The point is,even if they score a century,will they be able to do it outside their comfort zone? For that,we’ll evaluate them in different conditions,and in different positions in the batting order,” says McFayden,the go-to man for Australia’s youth cricket policies. “Some of these players are surely the uncut diamonds we are looking for. But first we got to put them on the cusp of national selection. They can be polished after being fast-tracked into the Australian side.”

The rain clouds give way to a golden dawn,and Visakhapatnam basks in all its coastal glory. Far away,with pinches of light streaming in through the thick tree cover around the practice arena,the team management watch the lads practicing hard for their next game,and harder still for Australian cricket’s future. “We want to build a new dynasty now,” says McFayden. “The shift is there for everyone. We are entering a brave new era of Australian cricket.”

An era where the pillars of greatness are constructed in batches; an era that’s in tune with talents in the youth leagues; an era that Argus and Cricket Australia would be proud to usher in. Quickly.