Chappell on Bracewell and Fleming

A column by an Australian in an Indian paper attempts to analyse the problems with New Zealand cricket, and Ian Chappell tells the Mid-Day Mumbai that all the problems stem from John Bracewell.

There might be something in what Chappell has to say, but not too much. Chappell claims that Bracewell's presence and power has sidelined Stephen Fleming and caused the captain to lose interest. In my view Fleming's captaincy in Australia was weak not because of Bracewell's influence, but because his team was weak and the Australians had too few weaknesses for him to attack. Illness may have played a part and he was certainly starting to look more like the Fleming of old in the one-dayers. But one look at his face in the closing overs of either match should have demonstrated to anyone watching that his passion is not waning.

The fact is, John Bracewell is an abrasive character and he loves getting up Australian noses. Ian Smith's new book reveals that Braces' dislike of Australians goes back a long, long way (to the underarm incident and the disrespect shown by Australian officials in the aftermath) and it is not showing any signs of dying away soon. Chappell's piece reeks of a personality clash, and I do not believe he would have written it if someone else was in charge. The crux of Chappell's column is that coaches should not have a say in tactics or a say in team selection. Unfortunately for Chappell's argument that is not the view of most cricket-playing nations. If he were to be consistent then he should also be telling the Mid-day Mumbai that John Buchanan and John Wright are too powerful.

While we shouldn't have any concerns about the extent of Bracewell's influence, we should be a little worried about his abrasiveness. His time in Gloucestershire was marked by a player exodus (although the players who remained became remarkably loyal to him) and it is possible that this may happen with the New Zealand side. Certainly it is easy to see Ian Butler becoming disillusioned very, very quickly. And I do wonder if Mark Richardson's loss of enjoyment of the game might partially stem from this source. Despite this abrasiveness, I don't doubt Bracewell's ability as a coach and have been impressed with some of his unorthodoxy in keeping players fresh and interested during gruelling tours.