Wright-iterate!

Somebody said, "If you pay peanuts, you will only attract monkeys".

He was saying this in the aftermath of India's defeat, inside of three days, in the first Test against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The reference was to John Wright, coach of the national team. And the implication was obvious -- that by picking the 'cheapest' option, as opposed to the 'best', the Board of Control for Cricket in India had yet again shortchanged the game, and the team.

Was John Wright indeed the cheapest option?

Yes.

Is that why he was picked? There could be a contrary viewpoint on that, and in fairness to the Board, that view needs to be aired.

It dates back to the time the BCCI bigwigs were assessing prospective candidates for the post of India's national coach.

One of the first to be seriously considered was former Australian skipper Greg Chappell. The board officials met the man -- and were startled by the price tag attached.

The next candidate to appear before the board was John Wright. And his first words were: "Gentlemen, if money is an issue, pay me half of what I have asked for. But let me have a go at this team!"

What do you say about such a man? That he was desperate for a job? Or that he had a passion for it, and saw the Indian team as the ultimate challenge? That he was prepared to undersell himself? Or that he was tired of watching the Indian players underselling their own talents, and wanted to do something about it?

Raj Singh Dungarpur, who was part of the panel assessing the candidates, recalls: "Chappell was asking for the moon. Maybe we could have afforded him, maybe we could have paid him the moon -- but in John Wright, we saw a passion for the job that we didn't see elsewhere. Wright was recommended to us by a man of impeccable credentials -- the late Sir Colin Cowdrey.

"Cowdrey suggested that Wright would be the ideal person for the job, and pointed out that if he could handle Matthew Fleming, a bank-owner, while he was coach of Kent, he could handle any player in the world."

I caught up with VVS Laxman after that epic Kolkatta knock, and among other things, asked him what ws the one thing that changed, for Laxman personally, after Wright came on board.

"I had the hunger for runs, the desire to cement my place in the side, but what I lacked I think was the belief that I was really good enough. More so, since I already had a couple of setbacks earlier," Laxman recalled. "John changed that. He kept repeating to me - 'You are a good player. You are among the best.' He just kept repeating that all the time. In due course, I began believing that, myself. I know that might sound funny, but that is what happened -- Wright got me to believe in myself. His faith in me was amazing."

When it comes to driving a point home, John Wright is relentless. "That's the way he is. He plays his cricket that way. He believes in drilling things into your head. It might be irritating for some, but eventually they benefit from it and realize the gains," says another senior player.

Harbhajan Singh may be, in relative terms, a rookie to the side, but even he is spotting, and commenting, on the impact of the coach. "It is because of him that the team is standing together today with its head held high," the offie told me. "He has brought us all together."

And Wright doesn't stop. Ever. Till he took over, the end of a series was a signal for coach and players to go their separate ways. Not any more, though.

Just as the players were about to disperse at the end of the Australian series, Wright rounded them up and gave them some forms to fill.

Each player was asked to list the qualities which had helped them play at their very best -- mentally, technically, physically, and in terms of attitude.

The form then gets the players to set themselves individual goals -- technically, tactically, physically and behaviourally.

The Indian players are not used to this sort of thing. So Wright provided the helpful example of a duly filled in form:

Goals for the next three months

1. Technical: e.g. to improve my head position when batting

2. Tactical e.g. improve my consistency in bowling line and length

3. Fielding e.g. to move more quickly to the ball and throw more accurately

4. Physical e.g. to improve my fitness by reaching 11.5 on the bleep test

5. Behavior e.g. to get to know and encourage my teammates more.

It all seems simple. But there is a point to the exercise. By getting the players to list the positives, to list the reasons why they played well, the coach is attempting to get them to identify their strengths, and set them down in black and white -- an exercise that in turn reinforces belief in those strengths.

And by getting them to set little goals for the immediate future, the coach again is attempting to get them to work on one little thing at a time. Get that right, and you can bet another form will come along, with another line to fill, another goal to work towards.

It is about system. About a relentless focus. It is about doing away with the concept of down-time. It is about getting the players to think, all the time, of their cricket.

It is, finally, about creating professionals.

A few days ago, some of the senior players were in Mumbai. In course of a chat with one of them, we asked, hey, how about dinner tonight? "I wish I could, man, but I am taking the late night flight back, have to get back to working out and training. You know how it is, the camp is coming up and on day one, Andrew (Leipus) will make us do the bleep test and if we don't get it right, we better have our cheque books handy."

The coach is unsparing. Relentless. Of himself, as much as of the players in his charge.

Over the past few days, John Wright has been making calls. When he calls, he introduces himself with the words, 'Hello, this is John Wright, of the Indian cricket team...' And then he has been asking. For reports, for statistics, for videos, for information -- all about Harare, about the various Tests that have been played there over the past several years (not just by India, either), and every detail relating to every single one of those Tests.

Who won the toss? Did they decide to bat or field first? What got wickets in the first innings, pace or spin? When did the wicket begin to crack? Has the wicket been consistent down the years?

Everything. If it happened, he wanted to know it.

Wright makes no bones of the fact that he is taking the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe seriously. As seriously as he took the series against Australia.

His reasoning is simple: the team he is part of needs to break the mental shackles they have imposed on themselves over the years, individually and collectively. And one of the most crippling of these shackles is the one that reads, 'India cannot win abroad'.

Defeating Zimbabwe may not be the greatest achievement in the game just now -- but it is a first step. And Wright's philosophy is simple -- one measured, calculated, step at a time. One goal to aim for. One mark to hit.

And then he can redistribute those forms. To set new goals, new marks. To take the next step.

Also read:
Camp John
"I wouldn't get too excited about the result ."
In through the out door
Yehi hai Wright choice, maybe!

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh

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