Cricket: Allan Donald’s excellent Australian adventure

Allan Donald has been confirmed as Australia’s bowling coach for their tour of Sri Lanka. The assignment, a temporary one for now, was confirmed by Cricket Australia on Thursday. Donald replaces Craig McDermott, who stepped down from the role following the World T20 in India earlier this year.

Australia will play a tri-series in the Caribbean involving the West Indies and South Africa, but West Australia bowling coach Adam Griffith will be in charge then.

Donald will then join the Aussies for three Tests, five one-day internationals and two T20s for a series to be played from July to September.

“I’m really excited about the new challenge,” Donald said in an interview on Cricket Australia’s website. “When Boof [coach Darren Lehmann] asked me I didn’t expect that at all. For me as an international cricketer playing against Australia, there was a lot of respect for the way they played their cricket.”

Although the assignment is just temporary for now, Donald was quoted by Sport24 as saying he would not be opposed to a long-term deal.

If you are of the cynical persuasion, then you might suggest that the Donald’s tweet in response to Fikile Mbalula’s decision to ban four of South Africa’s sporting federations – rugby, cricket, netball and athletics – from bidding to host global tournaments is suddenly looking a bit awkward.

Donald Tweeted: “Rugby, cricket and netball banned says minister of sports! Fantastic lets sanction ourselves shall We!!” (sic).

Although that is precisely what South Africa has done, the tweet did not go down so well in some corners of the internet with some perceiving this to be Donald being anti-transformation and, of course, South Africans who are anti-transformation move to Australia.

But real life is nothing like perceptions on the internet and there is something more to consider with Donald’s departure. While former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie remains Cricket Australia’s number one target, prying him away from his stint with Yorkshire might prove to be quite difficult and unless anything drastic changes, Donald could very well end up taking the job full-time.

While Donald had his ups and downs as South Africa’s bowling coach, the experience of 72 Tests and 164 one-day internationals across a career spanning two decades is nothing to be scoffed at. Sure, cricket has evolved and progressed much since then, but former players add immense value to formal coaching structures, especially when it comes to developing players at the semi-pro and professional franchise levels.

But these experienced players and coaches will have to earn a living, too, and while rugby is often up in arms about players leaving to earn foreign coin across the globe, little is made about the coaches lost for the same reason, and as the rand continues to weaken, this is unlikely to change any time soon. The lure of foreign currency is simply too strong for coaches to turn down.

This little conundrum underscores the need for South Africa to find a way to reinvent its domestic T20 competition in a way in which it can compete with other countries where the lure of the dollar is strong. The current T20 competition is far too often a footnote on the yearly calendar and Cricket South Africa has struggled to find a way to use the competition to its full potential. The need for this tournament to be its premier event and revenue spinner for franchises has become even more important since the abolishment of the T20 Champions League.

T20 cricket is huge business. The Indian Premier League (IPL), for example, claims that it contributed $182-million to India’s gross domestic product in 2015. Research carried out by Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), University of the West Indies, has found that the 2013 Caribbean Premier League (CPLT20) tournament generated a combined impact of $105.6-million across the region.

Then there is the Big Bash, perhaps the most successful story of all the mushrooming T20 Leagues. What started off as a fairly low-profile event has boomed into an economic powerhouse for its franchises. A move by Cricket Australia to make the competition family focused (discounts on family tickets, alcohol free zones and so on) saw ticket sales boom. Before the end of this season, average attendance increased by 22% with seven out of the eight teams breaking their domestic attendance record. TV ratings also increased and even the tat of merchandise sales increased by 44% this season.

Much of that success has to do with matches being broadcast on free-to-air networks, something South Africa could learn from. Only local international matches are currently free-to-air in the country, meaning its audience reach is severely restricted. While not every South African can easily travel to stadiums, most have access to a TV with free-to-air channels. Tapping into this audience will drastically boost the potential reach South Africa’s T20 competition has, making it more valuable to sponsors, meaning more money for franchise which, theoretically, should translate to more money being pumped into the franchise system and the development of players and coaches.

While the lure of coaching an international team will always be strong, it is a myth that it is the end goal for all. The very same Gillespie Australia is thought to be targeting is perhaps the best example of just how influential a coach can be on young players. Gillespie rebuffed rumours that Australia is after him earlier this week, but it would be foolish to assume that he is not on Australia’s agenda.

His success at Yorkshire has been profound since taking over in 2011. He took the side from division two of the county championship to the first division title in three years and has overseen the transitions of players like Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow – and he doesn’t want to stop.

“There is still a lot to do at Yorkshire and I solely want to concentrate on helping this team win cricket matches. You don’t rule out opportunities in the future. It’s whether you feel like you can make a difference in any job that comes available,” he told his county’s website.

England county cricket does have the pound sterling on its side, but if CSA can find a way to crack the nut of developing an enticing T20 offering for local and international investors, there is no reason that it shouldn’t foster the same culture. DM

Photo: South Africa's bowling coach Allan Donald laughs after an interview before Thursday's first cricket test match against England at the Oval cricket ground in London July 18, 2012. REUTERS/Philip Brown