They Run the Show From the Dressing Room

You ask any person about the players in the International cricketing teams and they will be able to answer instantly, this is the fan following of cricket players. But the success of a team not only depends on the on-field skills but the planning done of the drawing board and the practice sessions held before a match. During such times the coach of the team is the most important person. The coach’s role in international cricket cannot be undermined in any way. Still they live within the confines of the dressing room and seldom get the desired praises. Coaches though are the first people to get the axe if their team does not perform according to the desired expectations. So I thought I would bring these great men to the fore today. Below is a list of all the International coaches:

Duncan Fletcher, Indian Coach

Duncan Fletcher (India)

He is a former Zimbabwe captain and was instrumental in improving the fortunes of the English team before taking on the role of head of the Indian national team in April, 2011. As a player he was known for his left-handed batting and bowled right arm fast medium. Though he mounted no peaks as a professional cricketer for Zimbabwe, yet his partnership with Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan led to the rejuvenation of the English side.

Troy Cooley, Coach of Australia

Troy Cooley (Australia)

He is a former player for the Australian first class team Tasmanian Tigers. He also acted as bowling coach of the English national team for many years and became the bowling coach of Australian national team in May 2006. He has been appointed the interim coach of the Australian team following the resignation of Tim Nielsen.

Andy Flower, Coach of England

Andy Flower (England)

Andy Flower is a former captain and keeper-batsman for Zimbabwe. He is considered to be one of the best keeper batsmen alongside Adam Gilchrist.  He started his coaching career as an Assistant coach of the England team. He was made the head coach of the English team in April 2009 following the departure of Peter Moores. Under him England has won the 2010 ICC World Twnety20 and the Ashes. He has led the English team to the number one spot in test cricket in 2011.

New Zealand Coach, John Wright

John Wright (New Zealand)

He was the former captain of the New Zealand national team. He was left handed batsman and scored 12 test and 1 ODI hundred. After a successful stint with Kent he took up the position of head coach of Indian national team in November 2000 from Kapil Dev. He formed a great partnership with Sourav Ganguly and the duo won many remarkable victories including test triumph in Australia and beating Pakistanis at their backyard. Under him the Indian team made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup 2003. He resigned from the coach’s position after the World Cup. He took over the position of head coach of New Zealand from Mark Greatbatch in December. Though the team to perform in the 2011 World Cup but he has been retained as coach.

Geoff Marsh: Coach of Sri Lanka

Geoff Marsh (Sri Lanka)

He was the former opening batsman of the Australian national side and featured in more than 50 test matches and 100 ODIs. He led the Australian team to the 1999 World Cup victory as a coach. He assumed the position of the head coach of Australia in July 1996 and was known to be a key ingredient in Australia’s dominance over world cricket. After leaving the top job in Australia he became the head coach of Zimbabwe in 2001 and continued till 2004. He was made the coach of Sri Lankan cricket team in September 2011.

Gary Kirsten Coach of South Africa

Gary Kirsten (South Africa)

He was a former opening batsman of the South African national team. He featured in 101 test matches and 185 ODIs. He had the record for highest individual score in ODI innings with 188 not out against UAE. After retiring he took up the role of head coach of Indian national team. Under his guidance the Indian team reached to the top of the test rankings and won the ICC World Cup 2011 too. He resigned from the position after the World Cup success and took up the South African head coach position in June 2011.

West Indies Coach, Ottis Gibson

Ottis Gibson (West Indies)

Ottis Gibson was a right arm fast bowler for West Indies national team. He did not have much success wearing the West Indies colours but he had inspiring spells in English County. In September 2007 he was appointed the bowling coach of England. He took up the role of head coach of West Indies national team in January 2010. He has been ever since trying to rebuild the West Indies team to its former glory. He was retained even after the disappointing World Cup 2011.

Mohsin Khan (Pakistan)

He was an opening batsman for Pakistani team. He has been appointed as the interim coach of the Pakistan team even as they search for their full time coach. He has taken over the responsibilities following the resignation of Waqar Younis last month.

Alan Butcher, Coach of Zimbabwe

Alan Butcher (Zimbabwe)

He is a former English batsman who was known for his performances in first class competitions. He became the coach of county side Essex in 1993 and Surrey in 2005. He has been the head coach of Zimbabwe and helping the team rebuild after their hibernation from world cricket.

Bangladesh Coach: Stuart Law

Stuart Law (Bangladesh)

He was a middle order Australian batsman and featured in 54 ODIs. Law was appointed the assistant coach of Sri Lanka in October 2009 and became the head coach of Sri Lanka for a very short time after Trevor Bayliss left. He was named the head coach of Bangladesh following the departure of Jamie Siddons.

Irish Coach Phil Simmons

Phil Simmons (Ireland)

He was a skilled opening batsman and useful bowler who played for West Indies. He featured in 26 tests and 143 ODIs. He also has 1 test and 5 ODI hundreds to his credit. He became the head coach of Zimbabwe in 2004. He was made the head coach of Irish national side after Adrain Birrell left Ireland after the World Cup 2007. Under him Ireland has staged many upsets in the World Cup 2011 and have been a top team among the ICC Affiliate Nations.

What Future Holds for Duncan Fletcher in India?

After the World Cup 2011 win it was time to bid adieu to the cool and calm coach of Indian cricket team, Gary Kirsten. Under his guidance the Indian team reached the pinnacle of success winning the World Cup 2011 and reaching the number 1 spot in Test cricket. But due to his personal reasons the BCCI had to let him go. But he has set a benchmark hard to reach. Though the BCCI officials reported that they were in no hurry to appoint a new coach for Indian team still they have already made up their made. So after the exit of Kirsten it is time for the Fletcher era to begin.

Will Success Embrace Him in India?

Yes Duncan Fletcher, who was the former coach of the English cricket team has been appointed the new coach. As ever there are reactions coming in from all parts of India. When it comes to cricket it seems everyone has an opinion. While eminent players like Kapil Dev have criticized the move, other eminent coaches such as John Buchanan have lauded the appointment of Duncan Fletcher. Let us analyze some of the criticisms that are doing rounds at the moment:

• He is not Renowned: Kapil Dev said in an interview he has never heard of Duncan Fletcher as a player. Well paaji he played in your times, though for the budding nation Zimbabwe and was the first one day captain of the nation. Under him Zimbabwe recorded an astounding victory over Australia in the 83 World Cup. He was also very successful in his stint with the English team and led them to the famous Ashes and Commonwealth Bank Trophy victories. Ask some of the eminent English cricketers and they will rate him highly as a coach. Moreover we have already seen the miseries of hiring the services of a renowned player like Greg Chappell as coach. We do not want face any such miseries over again.
• He is Aged: First of all he is not a player, he is a coach who will be setting strategies and it is known to all that older heads can create best strategies. Bob Woolmer was a top coach and he was 59 when he was still coaching with glory. If you are looking for a young coach like Gary Kirsten then it is a risky business that does not come off every time. Young coaches are bound to have least experience in coaching international sides and understanding the needs of the international players.
• He will not Gel in: The same statement was made when Gary Kirsten was appointed for the top post. Experts said that a player of Sachin's stature will find it hard to work under Kirsten's guidance, but see results, we have won the World Cup folks! No one can predict how the players will react to Duncan's presence.
• Dhoni-Kirsten Magic can not be reproduced: Trends in cricket show that the most successful teams (barring Australia) have risen with the captain coach partnership and similar was the case with Indian cricket team. Dhoni and Kirsten put their heads together to reach the peak of success. We can only hope the Dhoni-Fletcher is not a disaster as the Ganguly-Chappell one.

No one can predict what the future holds, so we can only wait to see if BCCI have taken the right decision or not!