The Wright Stuff

Everyone’s equal in Wright’s World. The seniors are pushed as hard as the rookies, constantly reminded of the example they have to set. They get no preferential treatment and he makes it a point that the juniors notice this. But he gives the seniors space to play a proactive role and he’s happy with the results.

Sachin, he says, has been a good batting coach; Srinath a tremendous guide for Zaheer, ditto Kumble with the spinners; Dravid a mentor for the young kids.

As one senior put it, the advantage with Wright was that he came with no set ideas. Wright agrees. ‘‘I had no history with any of the boys other than Dravid and, to some extent, with Ganguly. Most came to know me during the eight-day coaching camp prior to the home series against Australia.’’

So everybody started with a clean slate.

The first priority was work ethics. Nets — so long an afternoon spent throwing a few balls, running a few laps and taking turns with the bat and ball — became serious business. He remembers his first session very clearly. ‘‘The boys spent 45 minutes over tea and biscuits before they got down to work’’, he recalls with horror.

This was unacceptable to the new coach and in his two years (he completes the second on November 15) he changed the work ethics completely. Now everybody steps on to the ground with a clear program. Harbhajan has to focus on bowling to an offside length and try and hit the top of the stump, Dravid must practice some lofted strokes and Khan must do more aerobic stuff.

There was also the problem of tardiness. It was not unusual, previously, for the team bus to wait for stragglers; today, late-comers have to pay a small fine. It’s not the fine that has made the reporting time sacred but the guilt of keeping teammates waiting. Result: there’s greater concern and respect for each other.

‘‘The seniors have been marvellous with the juniors and this has helped to create a good dressing room’’, preens Wright. Wright would be the first to share the credit for this transformation with two others: physio Andrew Leipus and trainer Adrian Le Roux.

Wright and Leipus were the original pair, and they were struggling a bit. Wright was a cricket expert and Leipus a physio and they couldn’t really provide enough attention to the individual physical fitness requirements of every player. The number of injuries increased, which was attributed by some former players to the failure of the two foreigners and inevitably followed by demands for Indian replacements.

New BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya decided to check it out first-hand and, following a match in Bangalore, called in players, coach and physio. ‘‘I was fed up and had almost made up my mind to sack them. But when I met them I realised that this was happening either because the players were not following the schedule at home or were not being allowed to hide their injuries, as before’’ Dalmiya recalled recently.

Things became quite comical; Wright and Leipus wanted to go if player attitude didn’t change and Dalmiya wanted them to stay on. They stayed, the players realised the good that they had done.

There is now a system in place; the players are regularly assessed and their reports go directly to Dalmiya. Le Roux has put everybody on a specific fitness program. Some stick to it better than the others; those who don’t also quickly realise that they could lose their slot to those who do. There’s no room for complacency.

Players, especially the juniors, are encouraged to voice their opinions. Team meetings are no longer casual tea parties. The coach and his team, assisted by computer analyst Sumit Pal, come prepared with video clips to show the boys where they went wrong and what they need to do, no excuses please.

Team Wright tries to do whatever they can do for the youngsters who come in contact with them. Le Roux had some tips for the pace bowlers who assisted in the nets at Chennai and then again for the young wicket-keepers at the camp in Mumbai.

Besides a lack of fitness, another reason for injuries is overuse, especially over the past year. Here, the presence of a bodysmith like Leipus has helped. The Australian works round the clock on player after player, mending injuries, warning of possible injuries and making players understand the role of each joint and muscle to create a better body balance.

Everybody in the team knows that there is no easy way out. At the same time, they know that there is always a way out. This was never better understood than in the near-hopeless run chase in the NatWest final, which Wright believes was a kind of defining moment. ‘‘Kaif and Yuvraj suddenly made the senior players sit up.’’

After that Headingley, Nottingham and Colombo have followed in quick succession. For every match there has been a man to deliver. Some of the youngsters were trying to break into the team last year. Today they have become minor stars. But they remember what made them. And they remember the story of The Bay City Rollers.