Australia’s most successful domestic coach speaks about his methods and philosophy after signing a new two-year deal with WA and Perth Scorchers
Alex Malcolm29-Feb-2024You’ve had incredible success in the last three seasons. The question now is how do you get better as a coach and how do you take your coaching to the next level with the same group?I think you constantly ask yourself how are you getting better and whether it’s some of the leadership programs that I do or the ability to continue to keep learning on the job with what you do. But also the opportunities to keep trying to experience different environments and working with different players I think is all part of that. With our group itself, it’s a phenomenal group, and I feel very grateful to be in the position that I am to work with this group of players and staff that have brought so much success. But equally, I think every team is constantly in transition and we’re no different.The recent Marsh Cup success is probably a testament to that where I think we used 23 players over the eight games and we saw five debutants as well. Hopefully, not only are we able to continue to bring those high standards, but we’re actually starting to give opportunities to that next generation of West Australian cricketers as well. That’s the exciting bit. I think that’s the big part of why I love my job and why I want to continue to be able to do what I’m doing at the moment.You had an opportunity to coach Australia A last year. Is there some flexibility to take more opportunities like that or get involved in some overseas franchise cricket over the next couple of years alongside coaching WA and Scorchers?There is. Exactly what that looks like we’ll continue to work through but the idea of being able to go and experience different environments and continue my learning away from our setup and hopefully bring some different ideas back with me is something we’ll certainly look to explore and work out what suits best.What have you learned over the last few years about first achieving success and then sustaining it?I think what success provides is belief more than anything. Belief that what you’re doing is working. Belief that the playing group are invested in how the program runs and the way they want to play their cricket. Probably the biggest learning is that…validation might not be the right word, but hopefully, it means that the things that you are trying to implement and put into place are putting you on the right track. From that first season where we won those three trophies, every one of them is incredibly satisfying, but they’ve all been very different and provided different challenges. That’s the art of doing what we do, navigating through those challenges and providing guidance and leadership. But ultimately, I think it’s the underlying belief that has really stood out over those last couple of years.Adam Voges: ‘You can’t do everything yourself and that ability to empower and trust other people to do their job is really important’•Getty ImagesWhat about the evolution of your relationships with the players? Being a domestic coach is different now to when you were a player with so many players coming in and out of the squad at various points of the year due to international and franchise cricket. How do you manage that with the players?We’ve got a big squad. I think we’ve got 31 players, including our CA contracted guys at the moment and trying to have touch-in points with all of them at various times is a challenge in itself. But that transition period of guys coming in and out of our program is something that I’ve tried to refine and tried to make sure that each time they go out or each time they come in it feels like they haven’t left.The communication side of that is really important, to just try and stay in touch with those guys as much as possible. But for all players, give them the clarity that they’re seeking, whether it’s in their role, in selection, in where that improvement lies for each one individually. So that’s been an evolution. Getting better at that side of things is something that I’ve had to work on and certainly haven’t nailed but continues to be part of how I continue to evolve and grow.One of the hardest things for a coach is to take your hands off the reins at times and empower your assistant coaches. What have you learned about that?Beau Casson is a head coach in waiting. Tim Macdonald is a really experienced bowling coach and a couple of our development coaches are great and there’s been transition in that space as well over the six years. Getting those guys to come in and buy into what we’re trying to do, but allow them to do their jobs and to work really closely one-on-one with the players, with their specific skill sets and give them the autonomy and empower them to make decisions at times. Just ultimately trust that you’re backing them to do their jobs really well. I’m incredibly lucky with the support staff that I’ve got and that goes into our SSSM [Sport Science Sport Medicine] group as well, not just our coaching group.What are the things you know now about coaching that you wish you knew when you started?There’s plenty that I didn’t know when I started. I think number one, you can’t do everything yourself and that ability to empower and trust other people to do their job is really important. Over-communication is always way better than a lack of communication. I think they’re two of the really big things. Just understanding what the big things are and focusing time and effort on them. Not sweating on things that ultimately are out of your control. They’re probably the key learnings. It can be a stressful life at times. It can be a lonely life at times. But understanding and learning a couple of those key points is certainly what I’ve been able to do over the last five or six years.Western Australia continues to produce a lot of cricketers for the national side•Getty ImagesWhat is the next phase for a domestic coach in Australia given the way global cricket is trending with the amount of franchise leagues that have developed? Do you think the role is going to change at all and how will it differ from coaching at franchise or international level?I think ultimately our role is still to develop Australian cricketers. Working really closely with that young group coming through is vitally important and then for our senior players, it’s continuing to challenge them but also understanding that they’re playing cricket 12 months of the year, and making good decisions around how do you help them with that, to help them have the careers and the success that they want to have.Understanding that this is often home and they like coming home. I think that’s an important part of it. Just managing those transitions in and out but ultimately trying to have a strong program that helps with development, helps to continue to try and get the best out of these guys and help them have the careers that they want to have. So that’s only going to happen more and more with franchise cricket now.I certainly hope that in 10 years time our main goal is still trying to produce West Australian and Australian cricketers. It’s going to be a balance and that’s going to happen more and more I think.You mentioned challenging senior players. How do you handle those situations now compared to when you started?I always thought there was room for that and that’s one of the biggest things I learned from JL [Justin Langer]. I was a senior player when he came into our program. He opened my eyes up to different ways of training, and different ways of going about things. It’s really easy to leave your senior players alone and let them do their thing. But he probably helped get the best out of me late in my career, and it’s certainly a lesson that I took and continue to take in and they’re often just little small things, but just trying to continue to help guys grow and improve and that’s important for anyone regardless of what stage you are at in your career.This new deal takes you through until 2026. Where do you see your career progressing beyond that?Ultimately I’m really grateful for the job that I’ve got at the moment. I’m really lucky to do what I do. I love it. And that’s a huge part of why I’m continuing. Beyond these two years, I don’t actually know ultimately what that looks like. It’s like a player really. You do the best job that you possibly can and you control what you can control and then if opportunities present themselves beyond that, then that’s great.But if you get too far ahead then maybe you take your eye off what you’re doing at the moment. And I say that to the players all the time, so I’ve got to be able to live that as well, to really just invest in this next little period and really enjoy it as well. I think there’s still some success to come with this group, albeit we’re going to continually look to transition with a pretty senior group.