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Cricket
By Our Sports Reporter
WORDS OF WISDOM: Former Australian great Greg Chappell addressing at the MRF Coaches seminar in Chennai on Saturday.
His days as a tall, upright batsman of wonderful balance and glorious timing may long have been over, but the former Australian captain's ability to still captivate and delight was very much visible on the opening day of the MRF Coaches seminar, here, on Saturday. He told the coaches, "when you have a player who is struggling, work as much on the mental process as the physical.'' Greg was dwelling on the `Role of the Coaches.'' Cricket was very much a mind game the Australian observed. "Michael Bevan is probably the best batsman in limited-overs cricket, but his footwork pattern changes when he faces fast bowlers in the longer version of the game. It is not a footwork problem, it is a mental problem.'' He urged the coaches, "keep the process right, the outcome will take care of itself.'' Greg revealed that the first hundred hours of a cricketer in the game was extremely crucial since a player kept travelling back `there' during times of crisis and self doubts - "The time of reflection for a young cricketer is very important.'' ``I don't think you can teach them how to play, but as coach you can create an environment to help them play better,'' Greg said. "The fifteen minutes of a batsman at the nets should be like the first 15 minutes of his innings, the Aussie added. The training sessions, he pointed out, should be creative for mental skills, without which "a player could only progress to a certain stage, not beyond that.'' Greg was not in favour of the bowling machines, since the timing and tone patterns of a batsman while facing a bowler were very much different. And he preferred lighter bats. From one master to another. Dr. Sandy Gordon, renowned sports psychologist, threw light on the subject of `Psychology of Cricket.' He thundered, "how you think, is how you feel, is how you behave.'' Dr. Gordon is a firm believer in coaches enjoying their training sessions. "If you stop having fun as a coach give it up. You got to be passionate.'' The Indian cricket team was now mentally stronger since it was fitter physically he said, and praised the role of coach John Wright, physio Andrew Leipus and former fitness trainer Adrian le Roux. Shifting his attention to a key quality, he said PRIDE for a coach was ``Personal Responsibility In Developing Excellence.'' And for a good player to achieve greatness, he had to possess "mental skills, powers of simulation, health habits and work ethics.'' Trevor Chappell, former Australian cricketer, zeroed in on fielding and catching. He emphasised on a proper grip while throwing, the hand position while plucking catches in the slips or on the outfield, and judgement while going for skiers. Later, the coaches left for the MRF Pace Foundation for a live demonstration of the fielding techniques by Trevor Chappell. Earlier, in his inaugural speech, Australian pace bowling legend, Dennis Lillee said "the MRF Pace Foundation had come a long way.'' The seminar concludes on Monday.
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