Hello friends,
Hope all of you & your family members are safe and healthy during this 2nd wave of devastating pandemic. Hopefully this phase will pass soon with our combined efforts. Till then let us take all the prescribed precautions to combat the pandemic. During this phase when we are mostly confined inside our homes some exciting sports events continue to entertain us & give us that much needed ray of positivity to fight against the demons of outside world. For football lovers much awaited Euro 2021 is being held where best teams of Europe are fighting for that coveted crown. On the other hand there have been lot of exciting cricketing action happening around the world. We all are eagerly waiting for the much anticipated World Test Championship final in England later this week. Two equally balanced sides in the form of India & New Zealand are going to fight for the crown. Thanks again to all the sports authorities & broadcasters to make these events happen with all the safety measures in place. Whereas Indian team could not get a chance to test themselves in the English conditions before the WTC final, New Zealand got a very good opportunity to test their strength against the England side just before the final in a two match test series. The Kiwis could not have asked for anything better than 1-0 win over the home side to boost their confidence before facing a strong Indian side. Great to see fierce competition in both the test matches where New Zealand ended up victorious by excelling in almost all the facets of the game. Let us now take a quick look at top leadership takeaways from the series.
Knowing your capacity
It is very important for any leader to be aware of their individual as well as their teams' capacity to stretch. We got a very good example of the same in the 1st test match at the Lord's cricket ground. Everybody was waiting to find out both teams' strategy after wash out of one complete day. Where it was really brave from Kane Williamson & his men to go for a declaration and give their bowlers a chance to push for the victory on the final day, Joe Root's move to not going for the chase was criticized by many. While looking at a broader perspective it would have been more risky for Joe Root led side to go for the chase & loose the match specially when their batting line up is missing with the likes of Buttler, Stokes & Bairstow. It was a young batting unit who did not perform that well against the New Zealand pace attack in the first innings. Also the home side had a lot better idea of the playing conditions on final day of a test match. Hence it was a realistic decision from Root & team management not to push for the victory. On the other hand Williamson showed lot more faith on his bowling unit to deliver even in a short span. Both the captains were very certain about their strength & weaknesses as well as the conditions. Hence two contrasting decisions but justified at individual level.
Prospering against adversity
Individually we all go through difficult circumstances in life be it personal or professional. At the end of the day how we fight it out & come back stronger is what matters. This series also showcased two such instances where we witnessed individual brilliance to beat adversity. Both of them are left handed opening batters for their respective teams who are fighting to seal a permanent berth in their teams. England's Rory Burns had a topsy-turvy career so far with the national team whereas Devon Conway is having a dream run since wearing the New Zealand jersey. Rory Burns, regarded as one of the promising opening batters in the English circle struggled to get big scores off late. His struggle against spin forced the English team management to drop him from the playing eleven against India earlier this year. But he fought back hard & responded with a gutsy century at the Lord's in the first test match followed by another half century in the second test match. Though his solo efforts were not sufficient to save his team from series loss, but definitely those performances will give him a much needed confidence while facing India later this year. Devon Conway is yet another fairy tale in cricketing world. He left from South Africa at the age of 26 after selling all his material possession & arrived in New Zealand to pursue his cricketing career. Consistent performances at the domestic level earned him his maiden call to the national side & the rest is history. He has been exceptional in across formats for the Kiwis in last one year. Icing on the cake is double hundred on test debut at the prestigious Lord's cricket ground. He could not have asked for anything better than this. All his sacrifices, dedication & hard work finally paid off. No doubt New Zealand has got yet another gem in addition to their already strong outfit.
Testing the bench strength
It is necessary to ensure that a team is a mix of equally potential performers rather than one or two exceptional performers & a few average ones. Having a bunch of strong performers not only gives the team a much needed balance but also ensures overall performance is not affected in the absence of few key members. The same principle is reflected in the current New Zealand team set up. Over the time they have built a strong pool of players who can beat any team in the world on any given day. For the 2nd test match they replaced almost half of their side including captain Williamson who was out with an injury. This can be regarded as an extremely well planned tactical move which allowed them to test their bench strength as well as provide rest to their key players before WTC final. Great to see that team performance was not affected in the absence of key players. Players like Matt Henry, Will Young, Ajaz Patel rising to the occasion & getting the desired result. Kudos to Williamson, selectors & team management to build such a strong side who can perform under any circumstances. Great to see every individual backing their fellow teammate to do well. Sign of a great team culture. Sunny days are ahead for the Black Caps.
Stay tuned for more at this space. Till then stay safe, stay healthy.
Image Credit: Peter Meade, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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