Mr Cricket (6 page)
AT THE AIS I WANT TO WORK ON:
Developing more backfoot shots â evasion, cut, pull, drive
Being quicker on my feet and having better footwork to spinners
Staying side-on to balls on a good length
Leggies, wrong âuns, flippers â more control
Becoming fitter and stronger
Getting a better diet.
There are many different ways to build confidence. You have to find what works for you. I have two standout tactics to stay confident: one is stop thinking about playing for Australia because it allows me to be myself. The other is to accept that, because I rely on plans and structures, whenever I reach a crisis point I have to return to my basic game plan. If I stick to those two things, more often than not things will work out well. Even now that I'm playing at the highest level, I have to hold on to those two elementary lines of thinking because they are effective for me.
Finding the best approach, however, is challenging. Holding on to it can be even harder. No matter how strongly you believe in the approach you've taken, different circumstances place new and different pressures on you. I want to stay in the Australian team for as long as possible and, though I try to employ my personalised methods of feeling confident, I sometimes slip back into old habits of trying too hard, expecting too much of myself and fearing being ridiculed if I don't perform the way people want me to.
Challenges will always be there but I have come a long way. I've learned
that, unlike when I was a kid at Whitfords, I don't have to be the outstanding player in the team. Playing my role, even that of 12th man (not including the application of Big Tom's suppositories!) is all my team expects of me and, therefore, all I should expect of myself. At Wanneroo, even though I thought I was too slow at scoring runs, I began to realise that I played an important role: I was there to get the shine off the new ball for the likes of Marto and other more developed batsmen who came in after me. My batting may have put spectators to sleep, but at least I knew I was part of a team and doing my job within it. That felt good. No âbutts' about it.
STEVE WAUGH
I think Mike always had mental strength. Mental strength is â and Wayne Bennett gave me this definition â the ability to not give in to yourself. In other words, to not take the short cuts or easy options. You have to work really hard and make sure it's quality not quantity. I think Mike had that knowledge but he was probably just too hungry to make it to the top. He was desperate to get there and he might have fallen foul of that for a while.
Mike has always been technically a very good player. But he was probably a little too intense back then and put too much pressure on himself, which is what he seemed to be saying in the letter. He expected too much of himself and didn't allow himself to relax and let his technique take over. Every time I played against Mike I thought that he was a quality player, but he just wasn't getting the scores that he probably should have been getting. It was because he was weighing himself down. He was trying so hard to break through to the next level. Once he relaxed a bit and let things happen, the results were great.
When the Australian side was as strong as it was then, a lot of players would overwhelm themselves because they believed that they had to score big runs every week to get a look in. A number of them were focusing too much on the big picture and forgetting the basics of what had made them successful to that point. Michael was probably one of those guys. He was so desperate to play for Australia, it became his focus and he seemed to take his eye off the ball when it came to those other details.
We all go through problems in our career caused by trying to be something we're not. I went through that in my career, trying to always play to other people's expectations. People expected me to be the charismatic shot-maker when I was 19 or 20 years old. I was supposed to be the new Doug Walters. Then you start playing that way and you're in the pavilion with 20 runs next to your name having looked good but having missed out on the big score. It takes a while to work yourself out and understand what you're good at and the way you should go about things. It's a process to learn to become dedicated to playing that way rather than playing the way someone else thinks you should play. It takes time to learn about yourself.
Not everyone would benefit from going about their cricket the way Mike does. Part of his approach is to take a lot of notes. He's very studious about his cricket, whereas many players aren't. But we're all different and that's what worked for Mike. Ian Healy was another player who was fastidious like that. He took notes every day of his career. If doing that works for those guys, then you can't begrudge it.
I don't think there is a typical mould for a Test cricketer. That's one of the dangers you can come across when you're trying to get ahead in cricket. You've got to be yourself and I think Mike's found that now. There's nothing wrong with him loving the game as much as he does, practising extra hard and really living and breathing cricket, as he does. He's also got a family, which is important because you need that outlet, especially someone like him because he thinks about the game so much. There's nothing wrong with that. If that's what makes him successful, then it's got to be that way. It has come together and now I'd say he's recognised among the side as probably the most professional player in Australia, if not the world, so he's obviously doing what he has to do to bring out his best.
Being regarded as highly professional has probably helped foster the perception that Mike possesses good leadership credentials. In my opinion, Mike does have the qualities to captain Australia. Probably at this stage Michael Clarke is the obvious candidate to become the next captain. But Mike would be only just behind him. Some might say that he will be too old by the time the opportunity comes up, but I don't think time is an issue â I didn't lead the team until I was 33. If he's there and the opportunity presents itself and he's the best candidate, then it doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't have to be a long-term placement, it can be just for one or two years, even just six months. It doesn't have to be five years. It's preferable for it to be long term, but if he's in the right place and it's only short term, then that's okay as well.
So Mike's a chance at some stage of becoming captain. He's got the respect of his fellow players, which is crucial, and he's got a very good cricket brain. Captaincy is something you've got to really want. It's not something that can be just thrust upon you. It's pretty hard to grow into that role, you've got to be ready and prepared for it. Mike's done the hard yards and, most importantly, he knows himself, so why not?
I've been impressed by Mike since he came into the team. I'm not particularly surprised that he's been successful. I wrote an article before Mike played his first Test in which I said that I believed he had the ability to be very successful at the top. I thought he had the technique and the mental toughness. I could see him being very successful. If anything, I've been surprised at just how successful he's been. To average in the high 70s in Test cricket is quite amazing. He's done that for about two years now and he continues to get better. As big an achievement as that is, I don't see any reason why he can't stay at that level.
