There has been too much cricket of late! The calendar is full and players are worried about burnout. Just after the Indian Premier League, India had a forgettable outing in the World Test Championship. Being second, a second time in a row is not something that the fans appreciate in a country of 1300 million. Sorry, I am getting carried away with Cricket and that is not the objective of this post. I am writing about professional coaching where a Client engages a Coach to help him/her in understanding a situation, bringing clarity of thought and taking action. Cricket commentary is being used as a metaphor.

Let me take you back to a time when there was no TV. The 70s for example, when I was growing up. How do you learn the game and the rules? Yes, by watching others play and playing the game yourself. That is exactly what happened. Street cricket or gully cricket was the way to go and if you caught the eye of the school PT master, then you are in the school cricket team. Yes, it was a proud moment for me. But, you cannot improve your game by only playing and watching the local matches. That is where commentary comes in – essentially for inspiration! Commentary on the radio had one singular objective – ball by ball commentary – to bring to the masses what they cannot see irrespective of the geography of the listener as well as the geography of the action – HELPING YOU SEE WHAT YOU DO NOT SEE!

I remember, the number of hours that we were glued to the radio, when matches happened in India, England, West Indies or Australia. Voices that echo in my mind include Suresh Saraiya & Narottam Puri (India), Christopher Martin Jenkins, John Arlott, Henry Blofeld (England), Tony Cozier (West Indies) and Richie Benaud. The commentary literally used to describe the action second by second – ” Kapil Dev at the start of his run up, Allan Border surveys the field and takes his stance. Kapil runs up to a 7 – 2 field with close in catchers at slip and silly point. This is a cracker of a ball pitches up and leaves Border – tremendous swing bowling from Kapil. Border shakes his head in despair and the close in fielders are wondering how the hell that missed the outside edge. Gavaskar runs across a good 30 yards to pat Kapil in the back as he starts his walk back to the start of his run up. The crowd sighs in disbelief as well..” A good commentator brings the reality, the emotion, the science and the strategy all streamed into a listener in one corner of India while the match is happening Melbourne, Australia. Helping you see what you do not see!

Then came television. The viewer can now see what is happening on the ground. And the role of the TV commentator changed – at least the discerning ones. A significant percentage of the commentary happens between the deliveries. It is now not so much about what is happening on the ground, yes the viewer can see what is happening – no need to describe that – but the commentator only brings in the emotion here and not the real action itself. But between deliveries comes words of wisdom – what is the right strategy, which bowler, what is the ideal field placement, and helping the camera zoom in on crowd emotions and antics of a few crickets on the field. Sometimes between overs, a few gurus take the stage to either interview coaches or help us understand how to play a particular bowler or find weak spots in a batsman or the right arm position to take a skier. Again, helping you see what you do not see!

Coaching is similar to cricket commentary. Helping you see what you do not see! The technique is different from commentary in the sense that the Coach does not give a running commentary but is present with you and deepens your own understanding by asking searching questions, helping you navigate the terrain of your mind and behaviours! Imagine being in a maze. While you are in there you cannot see the path. The coach pulls you up a 1000 feet and then the path becomes clear! No answers, but, engagement to help the Client gain different perspectives and chose the right action.

Helping you see what you do not see!