It Shouldn't Be About the Coaches...

Except When It Just... Is

‘Player Power’ has been a term of derision in professional sport for over a century. Whenever it was used as the reason for a coach’s dismissal or, worse, a ‘strike’, the narrative was always ‘greedy, selfish prima donna’ players looking after themselves. And that was because the narrative, through the media, was controlled by the teams’ owners and administrators who had a far more powerful voice than the players.

The establishment of Player Associations was a painful, slow and wounding process during which many sportsmen and women were bullied, harassed and then overlooked. There was collateral damage, though fortunately only in a sporting sense. The journey has been long but now, in cricket, the most meaningful power really does sit with the players. As it should. They’d be no game without them and nothing for their bosses to administer.

It is because, unlike in years gone by, they now have choices and options. For over a century there was one club and one country for whom they could play. Now there are numerous clubs, three formats and, financially, the country doesn’t matter anymore, not like it used to.

Cricket has an endearing way with irony so, for a laugh, it ensured that Rob Walter’s first assignment as New Zealand coach was against the South Africans he had been coaching just a few months earlier, now under the guidance of his successor, Shukri Conrad.

The conversations between players, their agents and Cricket South Africa which took place during Walter’s time as white-ball coach were kept private, rightly, but we do enough to be sure that lucrative participation in tournaments like The Hundred, the Caribbean Premier League and Major League Cricket in the USA was not going to be compromised. The Proteas’ biggest names would not be playing against Afghanistan and Ireland in the UAE, thank you.

Walter played the team game and attempted to ‘own’ the decision, protectively deflecting criticism from some of the star players for choosing cash over country when low-key bilateral series clashed with domestic T20 Leagues. He spoke of ‘expanding the base’ of international players and being ‘realistic’ about permitting senior players to maximise their earning potential. He never spoke about agents or players prescribing ‘conditions’ for their selection. No good would have come of that. He was criticised heavily for a string of poor and sometimes embarrassing results.

When Conrad’s role was expanded from Test coach to all formats, he said the era of ‘reserve’ teams representing the country was over. Full strength teams would be selected under his watch. If players weren’t available, then ‘that is on them,’ he said. They either want to play for their country, or they don’t. It wasn’t table-thumping jingoism, but it was populist. And it was well reported and received.

And then Conrad arrived in Zimbabwe with a squad every bit as depleted as those Walter was forced to use. It wasn’t remotely a problem in the Tests and T20Is against Zimbabwe, but more so against New Zealand whose players are the best available. Barring injuries, only Kane Williamson is missing. Hard truth – Williamson isn’t in the best 20 T20 cricketers in his country if profile and reputation are discounted.

Walter owes his start in professional coaching to Otago who employed him over a decade ago. He is hugely admired in New Zealand but could not resist the offer to coach the land of his birth internationally. He knew all about the delicate intricacies of selection in South African sport when he started, but forewarned is not always forearmed. Despite ‘player power’, racial targets and the intense pressure to build a squad with at least six Black African players for the 2027 World Cup, Walter felt the knives in his back when they lost to Ireland and Afghanistan.

Walter’s largely full-strength Black Caps have walloped Conrad’s Proteas in their two group games during the Triangular in Harare and both teams have belted hosts Zimbabwe. The final is on Saturday. It might be trivial to view the game through the lens of a coach, but it’s also impossible not to.

Walter the ‘accepting pragmatist’, the realist. Conrad the ‘stubborn, popular fighter’. Walter the inclusive; Conrad the: ‘Cricket was never a democracy.’ Walter learned the hard way about the disingenuous, dark-alley politics of CSA’s administrators. Always worry about a pat on the back.

Conrad, on the other hand, has navigated many of those alleys. At provincial, Academy and SA Under-19 level, his journey has required skilful manoeuvre. His bullish charm has won over many a potential advocate, but not as a national coach. He may even begin to feel the air cool around him as soon as Saturday if the ‘B’ team loses a third consecutive game to Walter’s Black Caps. Or maybe not. He could just ignore it.