Cricket's Coaching Carousel

Thorpster has a look here at whether the coaches of our wonderful game will end up like those in football...

Lamb...more cuts than George Osborne

Roll up, roll up, all aboard the magic roundabout. I have to chuckle every time that I peruse the sports pages, which is quite often with my sports fanatics technique of reading rags back to front, and read of another football manager jumping on or off. Today it's Brian McDermott sacked from Reading and jumping back on at Leeds with rumours of Colin Wanker aka Neil Warnock who has in recent seasons gone from Sheffield United to Palace to QPR to Leeds, now heading back to Bramall Lane. As some have highlighted on Twitter, Leeds United and Leeds Rhinos now both have coaches called Brian McDermott. I’m showing my age by saying that the football Brian played in my first visit to Highbury (now sadly replaced by the Bank of Stanley’s soulless bowl) in the late 70’s. Basically once you've had a few jobs and your names been around a bit, no matter how shit you are, there's always a fairground somewhere with a seat on a merry go round, with your name on it. 

And the new manager of Leeds United is....Gail Porter

In recent times the influence and significance of the role of coach has steadily grown, like the popularity of The Middle Stump and the fiscal deficit, despite George Osborne using the cut shot more often than ex England and Northants great batsman and drinking hero of us here at The Middle Stump, Allan Lamb. The role of cricket coach has for a while now had the attention of the world's various international cricket boards. A less active merry go round (than the football one) has evolved to a certain extent on the international circuit.

Duncan Fletcher is one, who like the now late MP for Finchley and ex Prime Minister, is seen by some as a divisive figure. He has been coach of England, been a consultant coach for South Africa and is now coach of India. The dour Fletcher is now being harangued on a regular basis by the national press of the sub continent, who apply more scrutiny and attention to their national coach than Sven Goran Eriksson and his former boss Mark Palios did to Faria Alam when she was their secretary at the Football Association! 

Mickey Arthur, who is now playing the schoolmaster role of David Elleray with Australia, was the former long time coach of South Africa, meanwhile John Wright the former Kent coach, was at the helm for India from 2000-2005 and between 2010 and 2012 was coach of his native New Zealand.

John Wright

With the advent of so many franchised competitions and players joining counties on shorter and shorter term contracts, will coaching follow suit? Will we see the cricketing press start touting Mick Newell for Surrey, Chris Adams for Hampshire or Giles White for Middlesex? Will there be a flurry of familiar names moving from County to County taking their backroom staff and favourite journeyman with them, dancing to the tune of rich overseas businessman who have strolled into town and purchased this countries famous sides as playthings? When Jack Walker bought Blackburn Rovers just over 20 years ago, the newspapers marvelled at the richest man in football with a fortune estimated at £300 million, chicken feed by today’s standards, if you pardon the poultry/Venky’s based pun. The constant changes in ownership of footballs stalwart clubs has contributed massively to the national winter sports crazy coaching carousel, and I often wonder will cricket follow suit? 

Only time will tell.