Inculcating the Aussie grit among Indians

INDIA OFTEN lends a karmic twist to his cricketing steps. His first and last tryst with Test matches was at Adelaide. And Indians were the opposition on both occasions.

In that journey from 1985 to 1991, Geoff Marsh, reiterated Aussie grit with that gasping scramble for a single or in a rousing stop at point. The apex was the Reliance Cup triumph in 1987. And the venue was distinctly Indian - Calcutta.

The Indian touch still lingers as he grapples with cricket's throbbing heart in the sub-continent. ``There is tremendous passion for the game here. That's one thing which struck me and Steve Waugh when we toured here the first time around in 1987. This has to be harnessed,'' he said during his recent visit to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

Marsh is the BCCI consultant and domestic cricket, coaching standards, umpiring and wickets top his agenda. The Board is casting its blinkers aside as Marsh and John Wright, the Indian coach, become part of the think-tank expected to burnish talent with a gung-ho attitude. ``Yes, I have spoken to John (Wright). He obviously will be busy with the National team while we do the behind-the-scenes stuff. We had a chat. He knows the team and its requirements,'' Marsh said.

Xenophobia might guide misplaced patriotism to question Marsh's credentials. He may not have a permanent seat in the pantheon of Aussie greats but Marsh was part of the revival act Down Under in the mid- eighties. In that transition phase after Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh played out their swansongs and Kim Hughes left captaincy in tears, Marsh was a vital cog in Allan Border's salvage operation.

`Swampy' Marsh and David Boon nudged in hope with a terrific lets-steal-a-single rapport. Soon the Aussie juggernaut made its early steps while Dean Jones' double hundred braved humidity and a ruined bodyclock in the historic tied Test against India at Chennai. The Reliance Cup triumph at Calcutta in 1987 ushered in roses for the Border-Simpson combine and there were no more blunders Down Under.

``Ya, I have always had a good time and we won the World Cup mate,'' said Marsh while nudging past memory's cobwebs. He recently basked again in the World Cup's halo while Steve Waugh cradled the Cup at the Lord's balcony. It was an enviable summit in Marsh's coaching stint with the Aussie team during the post- Simpson phase.

However the need to nurture a family forced Marsh to leave until his yo-yo act vis-a-vis the Indian coach's post pegged him back to the limelight. An initial frontrunner for a seat left cold by a peeved Kapil, Marsh applied, withdrew and finally landed for the interview. But the scales had tilted in favour of John Wright and it helped that Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid after their County stints, gave positive soundbytes on the quiet Kiwi.

The Board earmarked the consultant's role for Marsh and he quit his post in the Australian selection committee. ``I have been involved with Australia as a player, coach and selector. Now I am interested in the global aspect of cricket and for bettering standards everywhere. Right now its India and it will help upgrade my skills,'' he said.

As a nation we have a propensity to believe in miracles. Perhaps its due to our cultural blend of excess spiritual notes and a laidback attitude. And when Marsh grasps the reins of a consultant's post, the bouquets do conceal imminent brickbats. Expectations are bound to soar and it might well trigger a backlash from the laws of gravity. Marsh is aware of the pitfalls. ``Be patient. Change cannot be overnight and it takes time to be up and running. Like any other team, India too does have a few problem areas. We got to work on it,'' he said.

Hope does stir despite cellphones wallowing in a guilt-trip. An NCA-induced bench strength topped with Yuveraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Hemang Badani and Reetinder Singh Sodhi's efforts to meld promise with potential has helped Indian cricket to shed its bookie-scars. And sunny smiles will trickle down a rickety domestic system if Marsh can overcome the limitations of his annual-12-weeks-in-India schedule.

His ideas might well usher in a recoup-act replete with attitude, adrenaline and aggro. ``There's something special about the baggy green,'' Marsh said. If he can bequeath that reverence for the National cap and trigger a to-hell-with-laundry-bills-lets-slog attitude in India's cricketing fields, a nation's gratitude would be his favourite talisman. But first as he said, ``Let's be patient.''

K. C. VIJAYA KUMAR

Bangalore

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