BCCI, remember Sandy Gordon?

[DesiChap]

BCCI, remember Sandy Gordon? By: Khalid A-H Ansari April 29, 2007 There may not be any truth in the story doing the rounds here that the Sri Lankan team left their hotel for yesterday?s final at a precise time, which was considered astrologically auspicious. However, it is no fiction that captain Mahela Jayawardene revealed before the start that his troop?s morale was extremely high because of the hard work put in by team psychologist Sandy Gordon. The captain?s admission made one wonder why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), did not appoint Gordon, instead of part-timer Rudy Webster, whose involvement with the team during the 2005-06 tour was an unmitigated disaster. Surely, the reason could not have been financial constraint. Sandy Gordon Readers of this column will recall my persistent call over the years for a qualified sports psychologist with a proven track record to be attached to the team, given the vital importance of mental factors in sport. In fact, I spoke to Sandy Gordon, who has had two successful stints with the Indian cricket team ? in the Natwest Trophy in 2002, which we won, and the last World Cup in South Africa, where we reached the final after an undistinguished start ? regarding a possible involvement with the Indian team for this World Cup. He said he would be happy to consider any offer that BCCI might make to him. Obviously, the Indian Board did not consider him good enough when opting for Webster instead. Jayawardene also said that his team was inspired by the presence of Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapakase at the Kensington Oval (the Barbadian, Jamaican and St Lucian prime ministers were also present) and by the news that a ticker tape parade was being planned for his team upon its return home, irrespective of the result. It is learnt that a truce has been declared in the Sri Lankan civil war because of the World Cup.

[yoda]

Re: BCCI, remember Sandy Gordon? :shrug: we surely could have used him.

[King]

Re: BCCI, remember Sandy Gordon? Wouldn't have made a difference even if India used the best in the world. When the players can't bring on table their 'A' performance playing the first game against Bangladesh none can help them.