Darren Lehmann: Resurrecting Australia once again

Australian coach Darren Lehmann with his players

As a player, Darren Lehmann used to walk into the team more as a fire-fighter or as an aggressive bully. The teams which he played in the 2000’s were one of the greater Australian teams with places not up for grabs always. His aggression and a stop-start career and his disregard for fitness often cost him a place in a squad which was brimming with talent. He still ended up being a part of two World Cup winning teams, which doesn’t look bad on his resume at all. Gutsy when needed to be, he could be aggressive as well when the situation demanded.

But it is his dalliance with coaching and the current way in which Australia is performing which is making everyone sit up and take notice. Being aware of the nature of his career, in which he was always having to prove himself to be in a squad, the pressure was more within than from the outside. Realizing this, when he took over the Australian squad, he realized that the player’s needed to enjoy the game more rather than being always under scrutiny.

The fiasco of suspensions under Micky Arthur for turning up late at team meetings and the subsequent hammerings in the sub-continent led to the change in management. Australian Cricket now seems to have got a new lease of life under him, players such as Brad Haddin, who was on the verge of fading out has suddenly become pivotal, pulling off catches which would put his younger counterparts to shame.

Mitchell Johnson, is breathing fire these days, just ask the hopping England batsmen. With a moustache reminiscent of the Lillee era, he is sending down thunderbolts for fun. Such a re-invigoration has taken place because there is a certain calmness and assuredness in the squad. Lehmann has always been considered old school types, but surely his approaches aren’t old school, as can be seen from his ensemble of supporting coaches.

Lehmann is a man used to success, but he is also a man who builds sides based on promoting team culture and discipline, without removing the fun of the game. The current Ashes are yielding the results, but the bricks and mortars started being laid as early as the Ashes in England, where although there were losses, the steady improvement was visible.

Building a cricket team or for that matter, building anything isn’t easy, for it requires patience, perseverance as professionals of any field can verify. The same applies to a team where different factors have to be taken into account. Some of the primary reasons for Australia’s turnaround this summer has been the way Ryan Harris has been kept fit and the way Mitchell Johnson has been managed.

It is too early in Darren Lehmann’s reign to judge him, for in order to establish Australia as the same force there has to be a considerable period of dominance. He has ensured though, that Australia can look forward to the summer and the challenges that lie ahead with a positive and aggressive attitude, rather than looking behind their shoulders.