Burns' Eye View

With four rounds of fixtures to go, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Yorkshire appear to be battling it out between themselves to become Cricket’s County Champions in 2010.

In Division Two, Sussex’s dominance should see them promoted as Champions with either Glamorgan (possibly), Gloucestershire (probably) or Worcestershire joining them in Division One for 2011.

The gap between the two divisions widens every year with some teams like Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire looking like pereennial members of the second tier of English cricket. Middlesex may become another if they don’t arrest the decline in their fortunes, having spent only four seasons in the top tier since the two-divisional Championship came into being in 2000. They have now been out of the top tier in each of the last four seasons. Surrey, one of the other iconic names of English County Cricket, appear doomed at the bottom of the second division for a second successive season. Despite huge investment in playing and coaching resources, and an enviable, annual turnover in excess of £20million, (which dwarfs all their rivals), they have been unable to arrest a decline in their playing fortunes for several years now.

Kent and Essex were promoted last season and may be relegated at the first time of asking – a fate which befell Worcestershire the year before and several other teams including Warwickshire recently. One of the difficulties facing relegated Clubs is the desire for players to want to play in Division One to enhance their England credentials. Unless a County is able to produce a conveyor belt of talent from their own development system, losing good players is not an option. The prospect of relegation looks increasingly like a potential ‘meltdown’ for certain clubs’ cricketing future, whatever their heritage.

New age Counties like Durham and Hampshire, have stolen a march over some their more famous rivals at a time when the landscape of Cricket is changing rapidly. For any Club stuck in a time warp, the consequences may be severe. Players demands are increasing financially and also from an achievement perspective. Players want to win trophies more than playing for a particular club and are prepared to move to chase the glory. The loyalty between players and clubs is a thing of the past and the sport is moving towards the footballing culture of a purely results-driven industry, with little job security for Coaches entrusted with player development. Twenty20 is playing a bigger role in a player’s career and the riches on offer from the Indian Premier League (IPL) are such that English players want to succeed in T20 Finals Day to market themselves for an IPL contract as much as they want to win the County Championship.

Kent's Vince Wells, Geraint Jones, Paul Carter, Darren Stevens, Joe Denly and John Shepherd at a London County Captains Golf Day

Kent are facing severe financial difficulty after three poor years commercially, and with it, the probability of losing several key players. It may be a long time before they return to the upper echeleons of County Cricket if they get relegated and lose the calibre of players needed to get them promoted again at the first attempt. It’s a sad reality of professional sport in 2010 that only those with the necessary financial muscle will be able to survive in an increasingly money-led world.

Relegation from Division One looks a likely proposition for Warwickshire and Essex, with Kent also looking precariously placed just above them presently. If reports are true, Yorkshire are among a number of other clubs facing financial difficulty too. It is a worrying time for many employed in Cricket, and for people who care about the County game.

Nottinghamshire will be regarded as Championship favorites, based on their experience of winning before, and the fact that Trent Bridge is a tough place for opponents to come and play well. The ball swings and seams, and Nottinghamshire have some very good bowlers aswell as some destructive batsmen who can change the course of a match in one session. 

Somerset, who have never won the County Championship in their 120-year history, have a pitch at Taunton which tends to produce drawn matches. This may prove to be their downfall plus a match away at Durham to finish the season which could be challenged by the weather.
Yorkshire have a talented young team but will probably have to do without seamers Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan who are likely to be involved in England’s upcoming ODI Series v Pakistan – an unfortunate case of a County being punished for producing home grown England players. However, it will offer other promising young cricketers from ‘the broad acres’ to stake a claim for a place in the first team and the chance to weave their name into the fabric of the Club’s history should they win the title.

At this stage of the season, the fixture list can play its part in the Championship pennant’s final destination. Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire have to play each other still, and any team due to play away to Lancashire may be thwarted by the rain as the season draws closer to autumn.

A fixture against one of the teams in freefall such as Warwickshire who have been unable to bat with any conviction at all this season may be a huge advantage as they may not have the collective resilience to put up too much resistance if they fall behind again in a match.

My money is on Nottinghamshire to win, but I have a sneaky feeling for one of my old clubs, Somerset, who appear to be playing some very good cricket at this critical stage of the season.

Indian spinner Murali Kartik’s performance will be key as they have two matches at Taunton, where seam bowlers traditionally find wicket-taking difficult. Somerset have the batting depth and firepower to score quickly, or chase down a target, with Captain Marcus Trescothick in prime form after his double century at Colchester against Essex last week, and James Hildreth looking a quality player too.

It would be wonderful to see Somerset break their Championship duck, and if they do, I am sure they will win it again and again like Sussex did after their first-ever success in 2003. Currently, only Somerset and Northamptonshire have been unable to be crowned County Champions, despite over 100 attempts each.

Somerset have an excellent infra-structure (on and off the field) built by Director of Cricket Brian Rose looks capable of under-pinning future success. They have some very talented young players like James Hildreth and Craig Kieswetter plus Jos Buttler and Arul Suppiah, all of whom will have realistic aspirations of succeeding at international level in due course, and a superb ground development to be proud of. Their crowds are amongst the best, both in terms of numbers, and loyal, vocal support.

Most  importantly, Somerset are well led. Brian Rose and Chairman of Cricket Vic Marks guide the Cricket policy and strategy, while Coach Andy Hurry and Captain Marcus Trescothick lead the way on a day to day basis on the field. Trescothick is passionate about Cricket, and Somerset in particular. To be the Club’s first-ever Captain to lift the Championship trophy will be a treasured moment in a stellar career for the popular left-handed opening batsman, and a fitting tribute to one of Somerset’s favorite sons. If they can win it, Australian legend, Justin Langer, deserves his share of the credit in turning Somerset’s fortunes around when he joined the County as Captain four years ago, and instilled a greater professionalism in the team’s approach.

Somerset has had some of the game’s greatest overseas players from Greg Chappell, Vivian Richards, Joel Garner, Sunil Gavaskar, Martin Crowe, Steve Waugh, Jimmy Cook, Mushtaq Ahmed, Jamie Cox, Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, and Justin Langer. None has been able to become Championship winner though. Can Murali Kartik write his name indelibly in the history of Somerset Cricket folklore?

If the good weather continues, and some more fascinating Cricket gets played, it can provide a wonderful climax to a Cricket season which has attracted much criticism for its convoluted schedule. However, a superb  T20 Finals Day, and a thrilling County Championship run in, can silence the critics and keep Cricket lovers’ hearts warm throughout another forthcoming winter.

Can Somerset do it?   I hope so…

On this day in 1896, London County Cricketing ‘Great’ KS Ranjitsinhji achieved the unique feat of scoring two first-class hundreds on the same day, for Sussex against Yorkshire at Hove.

His county partnerships for Sussex, with another London County ‘Great’, CB Fry, were legendary.

A month earlier, the Indian-born Ranji had made an unbeaten 154 on his debut for England, against Australia at Old Trafford.

Ranji followed WG Grace’s lead (152 v Australia at The Oval 1880) by scoring a century on Test debut, a feat equalled on this day in history last year by Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott at The Oval in the deciding Ashes Test of 2009.

Trott became the 18th England player to achieve this, joining teammates Matt Prior, Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss in this select club.

What a difference a day makes!

As Alastair Cook walks through The Hobbs Gates at The Brit Oval this morning, he will have a spring in his step, and a degree self-assurance unimaginable twenty-four hours ago. Confidence in one’s ability can only be maintained over time, when top performance supports the belief.

His fighting century yesterday may not be enough to save England from defeat in the 3rd Test, but his credentials as a Test batsman have been restored. A place on England’s Tour to Australia to retain the Ashes is now a certainty, subject to a clean bill of health on departure date.

Cook’s commitment to a positive mindset rather than being overly concerned with his current form and technical imperfections, highlighted how well the body moves when the brain gives it a clear, simple message.

Our Director of Mentoring Dr Ken Jennings, has consistently outlined to sportspeople that London County has the privilege of mentoring that: ‘‘the mind leads, the body follows’’.

With mental clarity, the body can respond more instinctively, and one’s natural ability can then emerge to produce top performance. The opposite is when a performer’s mind is scrambled with conflicting thoughts which create so much ‘mental traffic’ and ‘noise’. Learning how to quiten the mind is an essential attribute to develop for every top performer in sport, and life.

Ken Jennings introduced me to Tai Chi and Bikram Yoga when we began working together at London County in 2004, as part of the Bespoke Mentoring Programmes we have created for people seeking improved performance and greater balance in their lives.  The activity lends itself to developing an inner calm and greater balance physically, mentally and emotionally. Understanding ‘oneness’ and how to integrate mind and body together in action for long periods of time requires one to remain ‘fully’ present throughout. Sportsmen talk about being ‘in the zone’ when they have produced peak performance, and regard it as a rare experience. However, with commitment to engaging in Tai Chi and/or Bikram Yoga, one can learn so much about oneself and develop the ability to deal with distraction by having more of an ‘internal’ focus in action.

Ken Jennings and Nick Compton stretch at Bikram Yoga, Johannesburg

Alastair Cook has experienced a miserable time with the bat recently. The ‘noise’ in his brain must have been deafening the night before his century, with so many factors weighing on his mind.

From a technical perspective, one of my concerns about Cook’s game has always been his tendency to play defensively towards extra cover. As a left-hander, it means that the bat is never travelling into the path of the ball after its release from the bowler’s hand. The angle of the right arm over the wicket bowler to the left-hander, means that the outside half of the batsman’s bat is at risk of being exposed unless the batsman lines himself up in a way that enables the bat to hit the ball back past the point it came from. In the left-hander’s case, this means aiming to beat the stumps at the bowler’s end. When a left-hander does this, it enhances the possibility of the whole of the bat’s width coming into play and increases the possibility of scoring on both sides of the pitch. This will increase the prospect of the opposition Captain needing to split his field more evenly between the offside and the legside, which in turn, opens up more scoring areas.

Many left-handers love playing the extra cover drive and it is one of the most aesthetic sights in Cricket. David Gower was one of the most elegant and successful batsmen England has ever produced. His extra cover, and cover driving, were a joy to behold. However, the downside of being seduced into driving through the cover region is that the outside edge is vulnerable if the head position and body weight doesn’t get ‘fully’ into the ball, thus allowing the ball’s angle to increase the longer it travels in the air. When the body moves more into the bowler’s space, the angle of the ball becomes less.

Understanding angles is essential to being a consistently successful cricketer. Presently, Andrew Strauss is having a difficult time against left arm over the wicket bowlers. I suggest that the difficulty is the different angle presented by the left armers, meaning that Strauss has to re-align himself and be clearer about what balls to play and what balls to leave. If he doesn’t England will struggle in Australia because their opening attack is likely to include two of the same variety in Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson.

Cook has an excellent temperament for batting and for life in general. For one so young (25) he has played a high number of Tests (55), all of them consecutively. His run looks set to continue, and with an introduction to captaincy on England’s Tour to Bangladesh last winter, he appears to be earmarked as Strauss’ eventual successor. It is important that Cook builds on the success he enjoyed yesterday, and benefits from the lessons he has learned during his recent barren period. As a future Captain, I imagine his recent travails will enable him to develop a greaterr empathy for his fellow players in due course. Cook works hard at his game, and knows that he does not possess the most perfect of techniques. However, a strong mind can often overcome an imperfect technique providing the fundamentals of batting remain intact. Having a ‘world-class’ defence is one of the fundamentals for Test Cricket, and Cook  has been working harder on his basics with his trusted advisors for some time now, ever since the Australians unpicked his game last summer (2009).

England Batting Coach Graham Gooch, was a devotee of hard work himself as a player. He believed in the old sporting adage that ‘‘the harder I work, the luckier I get’’, (which was originally attributed to golfing great Gary Player) and was particularly good at working even harder at his game when he was in good ‘nick’. Complacency was never a factor in Gooch’s career when he was playing well. He trained and practiced assiduously and was a great example to all who aspired to be the best they could be. The flipside to Graham’s commitment to training and practice was revealed in his leadership when his attitude to others with a different approach to his showed some inflexibility. His dis-regard for a more ‘laissez-fare’ approach, saw the early termination of David Gower’s stellar career, which was very sad for David and the many admirers of his graceful play and delightful demeanour.

I hope Graham can inspire the current England players to find their own way to be successful. There is a danger in the modern ‘professional’ sporting world that individuals can ‘over train’ and become ‘over-coached’ and in the process, lose some of their individuality and creativity. What worked for Graham, didn’t work for David Gower or Ian Botham and certainly wasn’t the approach of a Denis Compton or a Garry Sobers from yesteryear. I trust Graham’s increasing wisdom about coaching, and his vast experience of high performance Cricket, will continue to add value to the next generation of England’s batsmen.

Understanding the uniqueness of every human being is a key aspect of good coaching.

For the individual, understanding oneself, and trusting one’s own intuitive ‘feel’ as well as one’s own ‘way’ of performing is essential to being a consistent achiever in top sport.
Preparation is important, but more important is the need for individuals to understand the best way to prepare to get the best out of themselves.

Alastair Cook will have learnt a great deal about himself over the past twenty-four hours. If he can apply the wisdom he has gained through adversity, and continues to progress as a player, (aswell as  becoming increasingly resilient as a character), he can become one of the most prolific run-makers in the history of English Cricket. Cook’s recipe for success will have some new ingredients from now on. He will feel a different player today.

Another low score yesterday, and it could have been a very different story for Cook’ England career. Such are the fine margins in the careers of top sportsmen.

Isn’t it amazing how one performance, one random event, or one piece of information, can seemingly transform an indivdual’s life?