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Originally Posted by billah
Over and over, we hear the horrible stories of one problem - "Batting Failure". Over and over, we hear the possible/probable cause: "Shot-selection". Well, "Shot-selection" is not just skill, not just intuition. "Shot selection" is a decision-making process.The decision-making process of a "cumulative" top-middle order brain that is averaging about 20 years is quite different than that of a 30-ish one.
It's the coach.
It's the skipper.
It's Junaid
Sack this guy, sack that guy.
We've heard it all.
Ranjit Fernando was sharing: Sri Lankans, before becoming a Test nation, used to play a lot of 4-day matches. Players such as Ranatunga, Mendis were quite prone to playing long, arduous, innings well before they started playing Tests - the only arena where you can get a lot of time in the middle against quality bowling.
When that 20-ish cerebral cortex gets to be 30-ish, this batting demon will mitigate itself - my humble opinion. We need to back our "kids" wholeheartedly. We need to give them tenure. Worship their primary success - you get Shahriar Nafees type flops. Drop too many of them - you end up with a team with even hotter head.
We are passing, of all things, a time of development. It will pass. So will the batting, I mean decision-making issues. Soon enough, soon enough - we'll see consistency, repeated success and more so - substantial averages from our future batting stars.
DW, towards the end of his tenure - was pretty much giving motivational speeches every now and then. Salauddin bhai was doing much of the daily trainings with the players. JS is very much hands on. He's been a "process" coach from just about day one. Very different in style, yet, success of these two coaching era can not be much different from each other. Next coach, I suppose, would probably be looking for a genetic disorder for the batting failure. Point is, methods of the coach will become less of an issue as we become more success-prone with time.
Time. Let them mature. Diamonds in the rough. Every one of these kids.
I often think of the lives of these kids. Yes, there is glamour, money, air travel, fancy hotel, autograph etc. etc. But imagine yourself as Ash. Where is your young adulthood? How does it feel to stand under the beating sun in Multan, helplessly staring at sure defeat, being deliberately hit by Inzamam, while fielding at silly point? How does it feel to come home after these heavy beatings? How fast do these kids have to mature to handle the pressure? Injuries, insults and what not....
I love every one of them. I respect them deeply.
They will succeed.
In time.
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