By Rashid Latif

 

11th January 2010

 

Tactical skills of players are important for admirable performance in cricket. I forgot the name of that seasoned player, who said this while describing Javed Miandad, that even if Miandad scores zero, it does not matter, since his mere presence in the team and on the field is a threat to the other team. It means the person was saying that even if without performance, simply Miandad’s presence in the opposing team is good enough for his effectiveness.
 
Obviously it means that a team can lose or win matches not only because someone did not score or did score, but what makes a player more dangerous for the opponents is his nous, understanding of the intricate details of the game and what I call someone who helps avert tactical errors.
 
So, the question is; How much do tactical errors contribute to the defeat of a team? 25 percent, 50 percent, or 75 percent? Who knows? as the correct answer is up for debate, however, in some sports, including cricket, I dare to assert that tactical errors result in defeat more often than technical errors!
 
Yet, as coaches, we often focus our energies and efforts on physical training and technical skills, but, at the same time, negligent in developing tactical and mental skills. Reason for this is that either we have not yet realised the importance of tactical skills in winning matches, or we do not know how to help an athlete develop these critical skill sets. It means that coach will need to either prioritise on time (how much is spent on technical problems and how much on tactical issues) or increase his overall coaching time.
 
Here are some points needed for tactical development. One basic thing is that this idea be placed in the subconscious mind of each and every player that the game of cricket, never changes under pressure; it is actually the mind state of the player that changes under pressure.
 
One example a friend of mine narrated, is that when Aussies were developing their team in mid 1980s, they played on their home ground, three test matches against New Zealand, on pitches suitable for fast bowlers; Richard Hadlee bamboozled them as the Kiwis grabbed their first ever test series in Australia by 2-1.

In the very next three match home series, the Aussies played on slow turning tracks against India and almost lost the series (0-0): With these two series at home, whilst the Aussies surrendered the pitch advantage, on the flip side,they created a never-relenting outlook and approach to cricket of Australians, which has since reaped dividends for the 25th year in a row (except for a few lean patches here and there).
 
Once the basic principle gets ingrained i.e. Cricket never changes under pressure, it is the players’ minds that change; the rest is to acquire tactical knowledge, whose basic ingredients are decision-making skills; game sense; reading of different situation; strategies & game plans; etc.
 
What are the different needed “Tactical Skills”: Ability to read the situation; Knowledge of the rules; Knowledge of team strategy; Knowledge of opponents; Knowledge of self; Knowledge of tactical options; and Decision-making and execution ability.
 
Knowledge can be achieved from experience; during various match scenarios and being self critical. It can also be achieved especially in modern times by learning from others. Recent examples include how England recently saved two test matches and how the Aussies won against Pakistan in Sydney despite a deficit of 206 runs after the first innings.
 
One can easily get videos of these games and analyse at close quarters how the players played & reacted to different situations; and dissect the thoughts of various experts & commentators on the game. We have advantage now-a-days that these videos are readily available and we can spend time in the laboratory (cricket library) to study & learn and then transfer the knowledge to players.And then Pakistani players can confidently say that if Dermie (Siddle) can battle it out for a
100+ partnership with Mr. Cricket (Hussey) do it for Aussies, why can we not achieve just 176 together.
 
This brings me to the next point that for proper tactical skills, it is salient to have mental competence, which includes controlling various emotions (anxiety, anger, joy, etc.); controlling tendencies to become over-confident, but remain self–confident; keep the burning desire alive of achieving better than before; and above all ability to concentrate. Like we say it takes concentration to play long innings, but then as bowlers we should also remain be focused that it again takes complete concentration to get wickets.
 
Some folks are born and blessed with these skills, whilst others learn through a passage of time. Both require time to grow and mature. Now maturity is of various types. Physical maturity, which is that let’s say if I am a bowler, I should know what can cause me an injury,
what parts of my body need toning, etc. Emotional maturity, meaning, even if the situation looks hopeless, my mind set is clear that so many others have fared well even under those situations, as such it is humanly possible. Social maturity, meaning my role is to be true professional of the sports, play & perform the best for my country & team; and anything that can hamper that in the social circle, I need to totally avoid that.
 
There are two other important skills to achieve, namely communication and character skills. Under communication skills, following are the important
elements: Send positive messages (not just saying play positive, but more than that); Send accurate messages; Listen to messages; Understand messages; Receive constructive criticism; Receive praise and recognition: Overall outcome of these skills is that one’s credibility gets enhanced with the teammates.  Even body language is an art form that exudes our emotions and can be utilsed to a positive or negative manner. 

For character skills, these components are essential: Trustworthiness; Respect; Responsibility; Fairness; Caring; and Citizenship.
 
After every loss, usually we hear the calls for need of batting coach; or fielding coach; or bowling coach; Yes – All of them are important, but unless and until the coach places equal if not more importance to strategic planning than technical problems, things may not get resolved for the long run.
 
As such anyone wanting to be truly called the World Champion in any team sport, needs to start working hard and put extensive & exclusive time in building the Tactical Skills of their Players.