Darren Lehmann: The man, the cricketer, the coach
With barely a couple of weeks left for the Ashes to begin, Cricket Australia’s announcement sent shockwaves through the entire cricketing fraternity, albeit only briefly. Incumbent coach Mickey Arthur had been sacked for not guiding the national squad well enough to deliver the desired results.
Former Australian cricketer Darren Lehmann was chosen as his replacement, a move that was widely hailed (at least by the Aussies) as being a “step in the right direction”. While it remains to be seen if the Kings XI Punjab coach can help restore the aura of invincibility that surrounded the Kangaroos for close to a decade or so, there’s no doubt in my mind that his appointment is indeed a progressive move.
Like most Australian cricketers, Lehmann was a skilled Australian rules football player in his younger days, having been a junior representative of the Central District Football Club. The stockily-built 17-year old lad even declined selection when the Australian Cricket Academy was formed in order to nurture and churn out future international stars. His reasoning? “I’m having too much fun with my factory life (at the assembly line of Holden car manufacturers in South Australia)”.
In today’s age, imagine the likes of Matthew Wade or David Warner doing this! Lehmann’s factory days instilled in him a sense of toughness, a gritty demeanour, and a fierce pride in being Australian-traits that would stand him in good stead throughout his playing career.
“Boof” had a rather interesting start to his first-class career: making his debut in the 1987-88 season in the absence of Tim May and Peter Sleep due to national duty, he made just 10 in his first appearance for South Australia against Victoria. After both players returned, the portly left-hander was dropped from the playing XI, ending his first season with just one game.
His breakthrough season, however, occurred in 1989-90, where he amassed over 700 runs in the first half of the season; the second half was spent in carrying out 12th man duties for the national side during the New Year’s Test against Pakistan at the SCG. Consistent performances in the 1993-94 season as well as successful stints with English county side Yorkshire further enhanced his reputation as a player.
For all his successes at the first-class level, the rotund Lehmann got limited opportunities to showcase his abilities at the international level. He was particularly known for his disregard for physical fitness and modern dietary regimes – something that did not go down well with then-Aussie coach Bob Simpson. An in/out member of the Aussie squad, it was not until the 1997-98 season that “Boof” finally made his Test debut, scoring 52 against India and picking up the wicket of Azharuddin with his left-arm spin.
He didn’t make too much of an impression in the subsequent games, barring a knock of 98 against Pakistan. However, his greatest achievement in Tests was to help his side complete a 3-0 whitewash of the Sri Lankans – no mean feat, considering the fact that the great Muttiah Muralitharan was at the peak of his powers on turning tracks. In the ODI arena, two of his memorable accomplishments include hitting the winning runs in the 1999 World Cup final, and taking the winning catch at the same stage four years later. Darren retired in November 2007, citing physical and mental exhaustion at the age of 37.