Pump up the tempo

[DesiChap]

It's the eve of the first Indian Cricket League game and the Hyderabad Heroes are practising their fielding at the Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula. There are several sounds that one picks up - loudest of all the team's coach, Moin Khan, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, hollering away. Every direct hit is followed by a resounding "Shabaash"; every miss is met with an angry outburst. For close to 20 minutes he shouts, urges, scowls. By the end of it, the players are bushwhacked. Moin, though, goes on to give them an impassioned pep talk. Things aren't too different across the field: Daryll Cullinan is training the Kolkata Tigers, Michael Bevan is whipping the Chennai Superstars into shape, and Jock Campbell, the former Australia physio, is taking no excuses from the Chandigarh Lions. The ICL may be a motley mix of ex-internationals and unproven domestic players, but the support staff they've been provided with is undoubtedly world class. Campbell, who worked with the Australian side from 2000 to 2005, has recruited four physical trainers, three strength-and-conditioning trainers, and six massage therapists. In his team is CJ Clark, who worked with the Sri Lankan side that reached the 2007 World Cup final, and Tim Brennan, the former physio of the Australian triathlon side, who has also worked with rugby teams. Three days into the tournament their hard work is paying off. The outfield is hard and patchy, but there's plenty of diving and sliding on view. It's early days yet, but the fielding standards have been higher than those usually seen in Indian domestic cricket. A few experts have been critical of the quality of cricket on offer, but the intensity on the field has been hard to ignore. The training sessions have been different and the players have been exposed to modern methods of preparation. The international stars, such as Lance Klusener and Chris Harris, have led the way and the domestic players have fallen in line. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala risked serious injury as he took a catch to dismiss Russel Arnold, and Abhishek Sharma managed to dive, stop the ball, and effect a splendid run-out. A superbly judged boundary catch by Hemanth Kumar helped the Superstars win their opening game, and Chandigarh's TP Singh dived full-length forward to pull off the catch of the tournament on Sunday night. "None of these guys needs to search for motivation," said Brian Lara when asked about this trend. "You have guys who've put their careers on the line. What more impetus do you need to perform?" The influence of the international contingent at the ICL must be emphasised. Most may be past their prime, but they've approached this tournament in all seriousness. Inzamam-ul-Haq, captain of the Heroes, has demanded passion. "I tried to sledge Inzi during a practice session," says one player, "but he got a bit angry and smashed me for four consecutive fours. It was then that I realised that he really meant business." Deep Dasgupta of the Kolkata Tigers thinks he has worked harder in the last few days than he has in his whole career. "Daryll has taken this up like a mission," he says. "He's put us through rigorous training sessions day in and day out. I haven't experienced the like in domestic cricket." So seriously has Cullinan taken his job as coach, one organiser informs, that he is already talking about "building a side for the future". Campbell has been waiting for this sort of opportunity for a while. "I've always felt Indian cricketers train a lot, but don't do so with enough intensity," he says, "and that's where Australia and New Zealand generally score. They train less but are far more intense during the sessions. We've been trying to change that. And the Indian cricketers have responded brilliantly." Deep Dasgupta of the Kolkata Tigers thinks he has worked harder in the last few days than he has in his whole career. "I haven't experienced the like in domestic cricket" How does his team plan to counter the fear of rough outfields that have traditionally dogged Indian fielders? "Once you develop the correct technique to dive, the nature of the outfield shouldn't matter. A good slider may get bruised, but will rarely injure himself while diving." As we speak, Tejinder Pal Singh pulls off a brilliant underarm direct-hit to get rid of Craig McMillan. "You watch this fellow TP Singh, he will be a star for his fielding." Soon TP pulls off a stunner, diving full-length at long-off to dismiss Upul Chandana. It's not all due to the ICL, of course. Young Indian players are first to acknowledge that. "The quality of grounds has generally improved and the outfields are not as hard," says Monish Mishra, the Madhya Pradesh batsman who is currently with the Delhi Jets. "There's a better awareness, also, in domestic cricket. But the foreign trainers come with that little extra. They have the right method for running between the wickets and sliding." Dasgupta concurs. "You should have seen the running-between-the-wickets session. There are so many little things that help. Running before the ball is bowled, calculating turning speeds, pre-determining angles. You need to think a bit out of the box - something we weren't used to." It should serve as a cue for the domestic associations. One or two have tried to recruit foreign coaches, but it's really the physios, trainers and masseurs who can make a big difference at the Ranji Trophy level. At present the majority of support staff who work with domestic teams learn on the job, and rarely recommend anything other than the traditional methods. Players complain about the apathy towards injuries - not just from the associations but also from individual physios - and are heartened to now see a support staff that's well-versed with modern requirements. Campbell is doing his bit to bring his Indian counterparts up to speed. "We plan to take them over to Australia over the next few months and upgrade their knowledge of the latest facilities and training methods. Once they have an idea about what's required, they can go about training the young kids in India." The ICL might not change the way cricket is run in India - not soon, at least - but it could well transform the way domestic teams deal with fitness and fielding. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo © Cricinfo http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/icl/content/story/323665.html

[Online]

super! Go ICL :wtg: