Steve Rixon

CHANDIGARH, May 7: They are the new heroes in the world of cricket. As the cameras swing from the cricket pitch to focus on their grim faces in the dressing room, it is clear that this is the age of the supercoach.

Even as Dave Whatmore's notebook jottings became the talk of the game after Sri Lanka climbed the pinnacle of one-day cricket, came Bob Woolmer with his unique brand of laptop cricket that nearly gave the South Africans a copyright over the winning formula.

Now, the latest entrant to this elite club is Steve Rixon -- coach of New Zealand and as tough as they make them Down Under. Sporting a light grey shorts and a white T-shirt, with that patent handle bar moustache trimmed to a nicety, this 42-year-old former Australian wicket-keeper is a surprise package, with forceful views and an indepth analysis of what coaching is all about.

On Wednesday, with an eager horde of youngsters gathered round him at the Sector 16 Stadium here, Rixon was all concentration as he followed his side's light workout against a local team, a couple of days before his boys take on Pakistan in the Independence Cup opener.

But, tempt an Aussie with a cricket conversation and you can bet your money that he'll jump at the bait. Rixon is no different. Especially, when the topic zeroes in on the philosophy of coaching. ``I am more of a team coach, and less of a technical coach. I feel 80 per cent of coaching is `team coaching' and 20 per cent technical.''

Team coaching ? ``Yeah, it's all about building a unit...letting the players enjoy the game.'' Having contributed a new term to cricketing vocabulary, Rixon takes pains to explain how his concept is different from the rest, for example the laptop version of Woolmer. ``Bob's method is fine. But, I have trust in my eyes. I believe that talking to individual players is much better than putting a piece of paper in front of him.'' The sarcasm is subtle, but definitely there.

But, like the rest of his breed, Rixon agrees that modern coaching is all about the mind. ``Eighty per cent of cricket played is in the mind. You should never forget that everybody is an individual in this team game.''

Here, Rixon stresses on the importance of employing a foreign coach who can be free from internal pulls. ``When you have problems, you get coaches from outside.''

Then there is that wry smile as you gently remind him that most of these foreign coaches -- Lanka's previous coach Dave Whatmore, the present one Bruce Yardley, and Rixon himself -- happen to be from Australia.

``Aussies have got a good philosophy to coaching. Some call it arrogance, but we call it self-confidence. In every game, big or small, we go out to win. In this context, I believe Aussies have a clearer mind on how to get things done and that's why they are in demand,'' he explains.

Even in Rixon's case, he had a range of options before him after he took New South Wales to three Sheffield Shield titles, in the six years he was with them until 1995.

``Thereafter, I moved to Sydney to coach a local side, so that I could look after my leisure wear business as well. I took them to a competition win last year and soon had offers to coach Yorkshire, South Africa's Eastern Province, the Zimbabwe National side, and the New Zealand side.''

Rixon, naturally, chose New Zealand which was just two-and-a-half hours from home. ``I realised it was a side with potential. I was aware of the problems, but being an outsider, started afresh.''

As for the injury part, he feels it is question of too much cricket or lack of it as in his side's case. ``I believe it is a question of extremes. Sides like India and Australia play too much cricket. So they are more prone to injuries and have to nurse their players carefully. In our case, we've been playing less cricket. Still, our strike bowler Simon Doull is injured.'' Visibly tired of the trend of the conversation, Rixon welcomes a memory rewind to the time he made his debut for Australia against India in 1978. Twenty-two victims behind the stumps in that series has Rixon's name still in the record books. There is also a darker side to Rixon's cricket, when he was vice-captain of the infamous rebel tour to South Africa, under Kim Hughes.

Naturally, he doesn't prefer to dwell too much on that, though he proved a point by coming back into the National side before retiring in 1988.Now, it is a different kind of test for Steve Rixon. One that will tax his skills much more.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.