Head coach, chairman of selectors should be separate

Black Immigrant Daily News

Sports

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DAVID Furlonge has been placed in a very challenging and arduous situation as the chairman of selectors for the TT team for the Super 50 Regional series while being the head coach of the squad. It is not the best circumstance for a head coach or a selector, especially the chairman.

That decision seems to have been a hasty one, and it is beyond me how cricket administrators could arrive at that conclusion. And I’m surprised that Furlonge himself, as an experienced administrator, is unaware of the numerous psychological pitfalls into which the heavy responsibilities of both jobs may lead him.

Outside of being a player, they are the two most significant and essential duties for a cricket team. Just imagine the number of awkward situations into which one can stumble.

In cricket, there are many challenges that a selector faces, and the chairman’s would treble those. The impact on all selectors, is powerful, but the responsibility that lies on the chairman’s shoulders is burdensome.

Cricket, more than any other team sport, has many factors to consider, and a minimum of three selectors is necessary. Five should be the absolute maximum, or else the committee becomes unwieldy.

A suitable appropriate committee covers many aspects. A team striving to win must have various attributes to adjust to any situation in which it finds itself. Due consideration must be given to the format of the game.

TT Red Force coach David Furlonge –

In a two-inning, measured by the number of days in which to win, one needs to bowl out the opposing team twice. Hence, in that match, one needs bowlers who are penetrative and a bowling team with depth and variety, plus a captain who is capable of reading a game in order to manage correct decisions. Then there’s the limited 50-over and 20-over competitions.

There are many issues of magnitude that require a variety of opinions from various cricket personalities with impactful ideas, in addition to the experience of past players who could fit into the strategy of the team, based on the opposition and one’s own strength.

Choosing cricket teams at high levels of the first-class game will rely on a strong intellectual input.

My belief, therefore, is that the head coach, as a knowledgeable person, has the ability to select teams at any level. However, it is wrong to ask him to also be the chairman of selectors.

Selection is tough enough as it is. Adding the mental strain of the head coach’s preparation of the team, plus his evaluation of performances, over and above having to chair the meeting to finalise the 11, can create conflict. One man alone with the information, hence the answers, cannot be questioned.

One must also consider the human side of contact with players. The efficient selector ought to be a bit aloof from the players, as being chummy can easily be misconstrued. The selector has to be objective at all times and must appear that way to earn the players’ respect.

As for the coach, he should be close to the players and must not be aloof. He has to motivate and encourage his cricketers to play properly and with passion.

However, as the chairman of selectors, the player may read the head coach’s decisions wrongly and quietly object to the chairman of the selectors leaning towards and favouring particular players.

This attitude alone can poison a team and spoil its efficiency through an envious player whispering to his colleagues bad thoughts about the coach as a selector.

A coach has to be close to his players and is a good man to be a selector. Nevertheless, he should never be the chairman of selectors while also being a head coach. The TTCB is looking for trouble.

Furlonge is a stable coach, and there’s no doubt about his knowledge. He would also make a fine selector, and would be highly successful in either position.

But I believe it’s asking too much of the man to handle the positions of both head coach and chairman of selectors.

The burden of responsibility is heavy and the psychological effect of one man handling both could be detrimental to the team or even the squad on the whole. That decision could have the reverse effect from what’s intended.

Leave Furlonge as head coach. Leave him as a selector. But remove him as chairman of selectors, as it’s a very sensitive area that could cause dissent, with all due respect. Good luck.

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