Guru Gary

A series of low scores against England in the 1999-2000 series had left him bereft of confidence and facing the very real possibility — probability,in fact — that his career was coming to an end. He had made a desperate-looking 11 from 31 balls as South Africa were bowled out cheaply in the third Test and forced to follow-on. Somehow,he survived the final hour on the third evening but with two days to play,it seemed a hopeless situation. Even making it through the third evening had been hard enough. His chances of making a meaningful contribution towards batting through the final two days to save the Test seemed non-existent.

It was that night,December 28,1999,however,in the company of his fiancée and soon-to-be wife,Deborah,that his coaching career began. Or the seeds were sown,at least. It was that night that he began to look at a player’s life rather than at a career. It was that night that he began to realise how the “small stuff” affected your ability to bowl or hit a ball. It wasn’t small stuff at all,of course,but he had always regarded it as such.

He came to peace with the fact that his international career was over. His form and confidence were shot and there was no way he could turn things around the following morning,let alone the following day. Or two days. So he said goodbye to his childhood dream and vowed,at the very least,to bow out with a signature display of guts,grit and determination.

At the age of 30,he was a long way from being finished — but in South Africa’s sport-obsessed society,the only criteria more categorical than race was age. Given that he had never been pretty to watch or a consistent match-winner (as opposed to consistent),he knew he was on the way out. He said goodbye to his career and started the process of coming to terms with it.

Something else happened instead on the pitch that day,something he was unaware of at the time,but which would eventually lead to his extraordinary appointment as coach of Team India a decade later.

“My body and my physical feelings were the same as usual,but my mind was different. All the consequences of failure were gone from my thinking,and I was,probably for the first time able to concentrate on the next ball more completely than I ever had before.

“It didn’t help my batting,let’s get that straight. I was out of form and batting terribly. I could have been out at any time during the first session,but I just fought my way through. Things eventually started to change. I gained some confidence and the rest is…” History.

That December day,Kirsten played one of the longest innings in Test history batting over 14-and-a-half hours to save the Test and his career. South Africa won the series. All was good again. All was back to where it was. Except it wasn’t. Something very profound had changed in Kirsten,although it was a change he took another couple of years to recognise.

“For a couple of years,certain players had chatted to me about how to prepare for games and how to go about things,but my responses were instinctive. I hadn’t thought about specific scenarios and wasn’t able to give specific advice. 

“Ten years later,I realise you still can’t give specific advice. It’s a matter of weighing things and reaching a decision for yourself,” Kirsten says.

“You can ‘go with the flow’ if that is your preferred option,and I’m happy with that. But if the ‘flow’ is going against you,then it does no harm to rethink your approach. I’m happy for players to rethink their careers by themselves,if they prefer to,but I’m here to assist if they require me. And also Paddy (Upton,mental conditioning coach) is there all the time,too.”

It is difficult to summarise the approach and legacy of the Kirsten era. Like all periods of extremely successful management,in any walk of life,time is the best assessor. And his time is yet to end. Success is the ultimate measure,and if India win the World Cup,Kirsten will probably be hailed as India’s greatest coach.

Yet,it is worth remembering what else he has achieved. When he accepted the position,India were fifth in the ICC’s Test rankings and statisticians told him that his goal of reaching the number one spot was “impossible”,given the lead Australia enjoyed at the time.

“Tell me what we have to do — tell me exactly,” he said.

“I can’t be exact because it depends on other results,” said a flustered statistician,“but you will have to be unbeaten in every series you play — that I can say for certain.”

“Then that is what we will do,” said Kirsten. He said it with such conviction that all those around him found the strength to hold his gaze and say nothing to doubt it.

The question was,how was he going to do it. The question he was asked more than any other before he started the job was: “How do you coach Sachin Tendulkar?” Kirsten routinely laughed and replied,“Well,not by helping him with his cover drive,that’s for sure.”

Ironically,Kirsten did spend many hours with Tendulkar working on his cover drive. But what he was really saying in response to the question was: “I don’t know how I’m going to coach Sachin Tendulkar,or anyone else for that matter,but I have no doubt that I’ll be able to add some value to whichever aspect of their game they think can be improved.”

Although he routinely downplayed his natural leadership skills throughout his career,even giving up the national vice-captaincy for no apparent reason in 1998,it was obvious that men followed him. Or if they didn’t follow,they most certainly listened. And when he felt strongly about an issue,he stood by his principles. Like when he tackled the South African United Cricket Board’s Victorian moral standards by insisting that Deborah be allowed to join him on tour when she was still his fiancée.

In the squad,Kirsten hated having no say in practice schedules. He loathed the concept of “voluntary” net sessions because everybody knew what that really meant. He resented having nobody to talk to about mental fatigue and he struggled to understand why there was so little comprehension of the basic,common-sense strategy of rest and rotation within a squad.

All of these things he incorporated into the Indian team. He empowered the players in a way they had not been empowered before and in the way he wished he had been empowered as a player. There’s no point in asking a bowler or a batsman what “works for him” as a pre-match practice routine,if he’s only ever done what his coach has told him to do. So they had to find out what worked for them.

Key amongst all these approaches was the role played by Paddy Upton,whose unique qualifications in training both mind and body made him a good judge of when a player was in need of mental or physical assistance.

Most of all,however,and this is probably what Kirsten would choose to be remembered for,he presided over a period of Indian cricket in which the national team played more as a Team than ever before.

“It always fascinated me,right from my first ever visit to the country as a player,that India never became the dominant force in world cricket that it should have been. The sheer number of players,and the passion for the game (they had),they should have had a monopoly on the game for 50 years,” Kirsten says.

“I do believe,however,that the team was always less than the sum of its parts because players looked after themselves. It’s so hard to reach the top in India that once you get there,you instinctively do everything you can to protect your place and stay there,” he says.

Finally,Kirsten says what he has always said,from when he coached his first schoolboy to when he received the phone call from Ravi Shastri offering him the job: “A coach never,ever makes a team and he is not responsible for results — players are. Whatever was achieved by India while I was coach was down to some extraordinary cricketers and extraordinary people.

“Anil Kumble,Rahul Dravid and,of course,Sachin Tendulkar — to name just three of the many who helped take India to the top and make my time so special. How can you go wrong working alongside such legends. I will always be grateful to them,” he says.

The feeling,apparently,is mutual.

(The writer is a South African broadcaster and co-author of Gazza: The Gary Kirsten Autobiography)

Five Steps to a Winning Side

Mr Approachable:Having been on the other side of the boundary rope himself,Kirsten’s mantra to Team India was simple — put up a management structure that is approachable,much unlike the Greg Chappell era. Along with Kirsten,the think-tank for the World Cup consists of mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton,bowling coach Eric Simmons,yoga instructor James Harrington,physio Paul Close and inspirational guru and adventurist Mike Horn — all of whom are easily accessible to the players,day or night,match days or non-match days.

Throwdowns: There’s no shortcut to success according to Kirsten,and India’s climb to the top of the Test rankings came through sheer hard work,and the coach’s throwing arm. Go to any Team India net session — before a big game or small — and Kirsten can be seen with a baseball mitten in one hand and a leather ball in the other,smashing the ball down with vigour at earnest batsmen. From Tendulkar to Dravid,Pujara to Kohli,Kirsten’s throwdowns and the tennis racquet technique (where he serves a bouncer to the facing batsman) have changed India’s battle preparations for good.

Personal touch: Kirsten will never be found watching a team practice from a distance,let alone bark orders from a high horse. At every session,optional or mandatory,Kirsten is present. While seniors and juniors alike spend a good chunk of their net session chewing on his brains,the South African’s valuable inputs — cricketing or non-cricketing — has often been credited by the who’s who of Indian cricket for a match-winning innings or a furiously good spell. From Sehwag to Sreesanth,Kirsten’s wisdom and wealth of technical knowledge has changed their fortunes.

Feedback: After every match,series and tour,Kirsten ensures that a letter is written to every member of the Indian cricket team,including the backroom staff. The letters range from lavish praise to stern criticism. The team meetings have become more open-door,too,with every member of the side,brash upstart or seasoned veteran,allowed to have their say in the discussions and strategies leading into a game. The show isn’t run by the coach and the captain,as Indian cricket was used to,but by every player in the squad,including those who do not make it to the starting XI.

Flexibility: While many coaches,including the successful ones,had a hard-nosed way of getting their way during selection meetings and on the matter of tour schedules,Kirsten has barely made a ruckus — making him a favourite with the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Although every player selection may not go according to the South African’s plan (especially in a country notorious for its provincial politics),Kirsten has managed to work around the system with subtlety,rather than try and bring down the establishment. He has had his way though,letting many a youngster wear India colours during his tenure,with one tour to Zimbabwe featuring only a talented pool of youngsters — and no seniors — as a litmus test for the then upcoming World Cup.