Graham Ford ????

[jf1gp_1]

Could be the next coach. So any info on this guy http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/296803.html

[talksport]

And you must have heard Drunken Letcher..... He is also the last minute contender..... Considering his last two Ashes performances in Australia I wouldnt even think about him

[Predator_05]

Graham Ford got excellent results with SA. You may remember he was SA's coach when they toured IND in '00 and left with a 0-2 victory Under him, SA won 9 out of 11 Test series, and the two defeats were to AUS. He obviously has pedigree, but it could be Greg Chappell all over again. SA are a professional side and invariably have good results no matter who is coaching them. I don't think he would understand India's cricket culture. This is where Whatmore scores over any other candidate - his familiarity with the subcontinent (having lived here for most of his whole life) and subcon cricketers makes him a shoe-in.

[Ram]

Ford is the players' choice it seems. Makes it sooooooo interesting. Whatmore- the fav among oldtimers in BCCI. Ford - The fav among players and then Gavaskar+kapil's fav -- G.Vishwanath

[Dhondy]

The guy has an amazing record in coaching. Grab him! Pakistan can have Whatmore.

[Predator_05]

Learn some more things about Ford;

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/296985.html Graham Ford may seem an unlikely frontrunner for the post of Indian coach, but the former South African mentor's mild-mannered personality and reputation as a technical facilitator may be just what is needed to calm the stormy seas around Rahul Dravid's team. Ford's impressive CV includes working as the late Bob Woolmer's assistant at the 1999 World Cup and then taking over the reins to lead South Africa for three years in which he improved their winning ratio in Test matches and won 63% of their ODIs. But Ford's retiring nature meant he left the credit for the players and, when Australia, at the peak of their powers, blasted South Africa home and away in 2002, he was made the scapegoat. The 46-year-old subsequently joined Kent in 2004 and has earned tremendous respect for his coaching ability and, importantly, impressing several members of the Indian team who play county cricket. It is acknowledged that the Indian players are backing Ford to succeed Australian Greg Chappell; which is no surprise given that he is very much a "players' coach". Ford's modus ope***** is to work in the background, using his keen technical eye to help the players and he has always been willing to spend the morning throwing hundreds of balls at a struggling batsman in the nets. The likes of Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener will all attest to how he ironed out problems in their techniques and set them on the path to being international stars. Ford's coaching career began at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, where he was employed as a Sports Union officer. Having played first-class cricket for Natal B as a top-order batsman, he became the university cricket club's player/coach and would spend much of his day devising tactics and field placings - not just for the first XI but all the varsity teams. Natal University were able to call on a host of players with first-class experience in the early 1990s, including Rhodes, and Ford was the logical choice to coach the Natal Colts team, before the province came calling with the offer of taking over the senior side. Ford took Natal to the four-day first-class title in 1994-95 and the domestic double in 1996-97, although he will always point out he was fortunate to have the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Clive Rice and outstanding youngsters in Pollock, Rhodes and Klusener to lean on. His reward was to take an SA Under-24 team to Sri Lanka in 1998 and he was soon being touted as Woolmer's successor, as the former England batsman battled to get his contract renewed by the United Cricket Board of South Africa. Ford went with Woolmer and the South African team to New Zealand in early 1999 and, after the dramatic World Cup semi-final exit at Edgbaston, he succeeded Woolmer. Although there are few more easy-going, likeable coaches around than Ford, controversy would soon become his unwanted shadow. He was bitterly disappointed when his captain, Hansie Cronje, betrayed him with his involvement in match-fixing, with Pollock taking over. Ford and Cronje had worked well together; the coach keeping in the background and Cronje the public face of the team. But Pollock and Ford are cut from similar cloth and, with national team selections increasingly being influenced by politics, the cracks began to form as both men battled to accept the limelight. South Africa went to Australia in 2001-02 with injury problems and key players out of form, and their opponents at their most ruthless. An already fraught tour was made worse when Percy Sonn, then the president of the UCB, charged into Australia in the days leading up to the Sydney New Year's Test and changed the team on the first morning, inserting Justin Ontong for Jacques Rudolph. South Africa were beaten 3-0 in Australia and then lost the return series at home 2-1 and Sonn made statements in the press blaming Ford. It was no surprise that he did not survive but it just added to Ford's experience of the political intrigue that unfortunately seems to go hand-in-hand with cricket. He returned for second and third spells with Natal, where the political infighting and backstabbing was even worse. So the backroom shenanigans of Indian cricket will be nothing new. But with the backing of a strong, respected captain in Dravid, Ford should be able to just get on with the job he does best - honing the techniques and mental strength of his charges. One possible obstacle to him taking the job could be family considerations. His wife, Liz, a Natal tennis champion just like him, has struggled with cancer in the past and he has two school-going children, one of whom has also had health problems before. But for Ford, the chance to coach the most high-profile team in world cricket would be the ultimate. He has a passion for the game that is not unlike that found in India and the chance to work with some of the greatest batsmen the game has seen may just be the clincher.

[gator]

But with the backing of a strong, respected captain in Dravid, Ford should be able to just get on with the job he does best - honing the techniques and mental strength of his charges.

i havent seen tht yet... hope, it shows now...

[karina]

I'm soooo relieved it's not Whatmore. I hate to say this, but his eagerness to jump aboard was almost like...umm...'soliciting'....

[Predator_05]

More on Graham Ford;

Graham Ford v John Emburey is hardly a contest Graham Ford, who won eight of 11 series in charge of South Africa at the turn of the millennium, must be the prohibitive favourite, but the intervention of certain influential figures in Indian cricket means that John Emburey's candidature can't be taken too lightly. Cricinfo looks at the background of the two coaching hopefuls in an attempt to figure out which man might be best suited to the job. What they did as players: This means little, as the coaching records of Kapil Dev and Sir Vivian Richards would testify. Ford's playing credentials are negligible at best. A top-order batsman, he averaged 13.5 in seven first-class matches for Natal B. Emburey was the dour half of Middlesex's 1980s spin duo - Phil Edmonds provided the flamboyance. Comparisons with Ashley Giles aren't too wide of the mark, and a return of 147 wickets from his 64 Tests illustrated why he was always a supporting act to the marquee names. Verdict: Emburey shades this category, though Indians could tell you that Greg Chappell's stellar playing career didn't count for much when it mattered. What they did as coaches in domestic cricket: For a man who began his coaching career in the modest setting of the University of Natal's Pietermaritzburg campus, Ford has come a long way. He took Natal to the first-class championship in 1994-95, and in 1996-97 his team won both the first-class and one-day competitions. He returned to the franchise twice, and left twice, after being sacked by South Africa in 2002 in the wake of another thrashing by Australia. Ford has coached Kent since 2004 but has yet to earn silverware with them. Emburey was unable to lift a poor Northamptonshire side out of the bottom four in his three seasons in charge, and his time at Lord's was scarcely more memorable. Middlesex made it back to the first division of the Championship in his second season there, but the seasons that followed were ones of treading water before the deluge swept them back to the bottom drawer in 2006. His replacement by Richard Pybus, another South African with impressive domestic credentials, couldn't have come soon enough. Verdict: Ford powers ahead here. What they've done internationally: South Africa won eight of the 11 Test series they played under Ford, losing to Australia home and away and drawing in Sri Lanka. Ford took over in the wake of the tied 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia. His darkest hour was also his brightest: in the tumultuous days after Hansie Cronje's corruption was exposed, South Africa won a one-day series against Australia. Emburey's international experience is limited to a brief stint with England A and a spell assisting David Lloyd with the national side. Verdict: Again, a no contest. View from the press box: Ford's brow invariably shone with perspiration at press conferences during his tenure as South Africa's coach. It wasn't that he was nervous to front up to the likes of us; he was sweaty after a hard day's work. As hands-on as he is low-key, Ford revels in the anonymity of the back room. "To the players be the glory," would be an apt motto. He is technically and tactically astute, and utterly unencumbered by ego. And, lest we forget, he has had to make his own way in the coaching world - something former players don't always have to do. - Telford Vice, MWP, South Africa Few people would have picked John Emburey - who has been moved upstairs at Middlesex this summer - as a leading candidate for the India coaching job. As a player, Emburey hardly seemed to relish his visits to the subcontinent. In the warm-up matches on Graham Gooch's tour in 1992-93, he was so badly savaged by Navjot Singh Sidhu that he talked himself out of the Test team. He wasn't the biggest fan of the cuisine either. He once said of England's finest all-rounder, Ian Botham: "The Indians used to call him Iron Bottom. But he wasn't - not after all that ******* curry." - Simon Briggs, The Daily Telegraph, UK Verdict: The media's opinion is again of little relevance, but it's perhaps telling that you don't see anyone trumpeting Emburey's coaching ability. What they say: "He coached me at Natal even before I played for South Africa. He was fantastic. He prefers to be in the backroom and gives more than 100 per cent and works really hard. If the Indian Board is looking for such a guy, then Ford is the right person. I wish him luck." - Shaun Pollock talks about one of his mentors. "Striking a rapport, winning their trust is one of the key roles of my job. India has immense talent. My job would be to help create a system so that a conducive environment would be there for all to enjoy the work." - John Emburey talks about his strengths. "Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Jonty Rhodes - he was the one who worked with them and allowed them to reach the levels they did. If you're playing for your country, you're good enough in terms of ability. What you need is a coach who can motivate and guide you, and as far as I'm concerned he's the perfect guy. "He always encouraged me to play my natural game. Whenever he was available, I'd have a few net sessions with him. He's someone who knows how to bring the best out of his players." - Gulam Bodi, of the Nashua Titans, who played under Ford at KwaZulu Natal. Overall verdict: When Rahul Dravid himself calls to ask if you wouldn't mind applying for the job - which is what happened to Ford - it's yours.