What is it about Australia?  They have a population of just over 20 million (one third of the UK) yet they dominate the sporting world in everything they put their hands (or feet, or any part of their bodies) to.  Massive medal hauls at the Olympics, twice Rugby World Cup winners, and they even gave Brazil a run for their money in the FIFA World Cup! 

Oh, and they’re pretty good at cricket too.  So good in fact, that the last time another country had their hands on the ICC Cricket World Cup, we were living in a previous millennium.  OK, all that actually means is that they have been reigning champions since 1999, but there aren’t many other nations who can boast such a record. 

Back home in sunny Scotland, we have heeded the Aussie stranglehold on cricket and tried to capture a little of it for ourselves.  Quite literally, because sitting at the helm of the national side is Peter Drinnen, an adopted antipodean charged with guiding Scottish cricket into a new realm of international achievement.

Peter, from Aussie rum capital Bundaberg, was a first class cricketer (batsman and wicket-keeper) with Queensland before moving into coaching.  He became Head Coach of Scotland in 2006 after a stint as their Technical Director.  And he has enjoyed significant success in his short spell as coach.  His team reached the final of the ICC World Cricket League (where they lost to Kenya) in February, and the Scots narrowly missed out on a scalp over cricketing giants Pakistan in last summer.

But he doesn’t want to stop there.  Scotland can no longer be the nearly men, and to compete on the top stage, they must be top players, as he told In The Winning Zone during his World Cup preparations: “We are playing on a global stage in a professional environment, so we have to prepare professionally and carry ourselves professionally on and off the field.  When we play cricket, we play it in a professional manner.”

But is it possible to do that, being an amateur side playing against professionals?  “We try to work to the standard of the full member nations, or to as close a standard as possible.  The amateur thing is not here any more as far as we are concerned.  We have to be as professional as we possibly can.”

Drinnen’s attitude is admirable and refreshing - he doesn’t want Scotland to be the also-rans or ‘minnows’ of the world game anymore, and has set about his business to ensure they achieve those goals.  But what comes with the territory of advanced professionalism is the extra pressure to perform.  With high ambition comes high performance.

“Our measure with regard to high performance is that whatever game we take on, our intent will be to prepare well, look at what we need to do to win, and look at the opposition to see what they are going to come back with.  So, irrespective of the opposition we are going out to win the game of cricket.”

So is that going to be his tactic going into the World Cup, where they will meet his native Australia in the opening game?  “Obviously in our preparation there has to be some realism as well.  We are coming up against an Australia team who are the best in the world.  They may have an off day but, realistically, if we put on our best game against Australia and do the things that we have targeted, we will do very well.  We feel as if we are in with a chance of an upset against Australia and South Africa, and we want to win against the Netherlands.”

Drinnen, however, is much more interested in his own team than the opposition.  He may not have been Head Coach for a long time, but he is confident he knows what is necessary to get the best out of his boys.

“There are four words which bring together a team, and they may be clichéd, but every coach will use them.  Number one is unity.  When you work at the level that we work at you take for granted that these guys are quite skilful players, but you will have a bunch of 13 or 14 different personalities.  They respond to scenarios differently.  So unity brings that team together as a tight-knit unit and they deal with adversity in a positive manner, both individually and collectively.”

He continued: “Two is skill, and three is commitment to the cause, whatever it may be.  It could be getting ten runs off the next two overs or whatever, and even though it might not involve everyone, the team is committed to the objective.  And the last thing for me is belief.  You don’t achieve anything unless you believe it, simple as that.”

So how does Peter motivate his squad to execute the four components of his teamwork philosophy?  “It is my job to make sure everyone knows their role.  If all of us do our job to the very best of our ability and are 100% committed to the cause across the board, the motivation will come from representing your country!  If we have to worry about being motivated to play on the stage that we are on, then we shouldn’t even be there.  Motivation is not a concern for me as a coach; my players are already very motivated.  My job is to make it very clear to my players of the role they have to play on any given day, and then they execute that role.”

Drinnen’s concise and assured game-plan displays the hallmarks of a man who has come from a background where sport, and winning in sport, is deeply rooted into the culture.  It is commonly known, and widely applauded that the Australian government invests heavily in sport, (Drinnen states that they invest a sum roughly nine times the spending of the UK) but what of its people?  Has Drinnen’s cultural landscape shaped the language of his sporting mantra?

“Second is not an option for Australians, and that’s just the way we’ve been brought up.  In sport that carries you a long way, if you have that aggressive, competitive edge. When the pressure is really on it will take you to the next level.  I’m not saying it doesn’t happen here, but I don’t think it does to the degree that it does in Australia.  There are several components, but the government emphasis coupled with an aggressive, competitive attitude will create a winning culture.”
So does Peter feel that he can carry the values he has instilled into his players through to the World Cup?  Will we see Scotland lifting the trophy in Barbados on April 28?

“Winning and losing is not a measure and never will be in our environment, because we come up against so many contrasting oppositions.  Our measures have to be relative depending on the opposition and environment in which we are playing.

“There is something that we talk about a lot here, and that is about making statements.  Every time we take on a team that is ahead of us, there is an opportunity for us to make a statement.  We are making a statement to the ICC to promote our cause as an associate country.  We are the Number One associate country at the moment.  They are helping us to move higher so we owe them to do our bit and make the step up.  And we can only do that by playing hard.”

So the World Cup might not be coming back to Scotland.  But at least they are in it, which isn’t bad for a country where cricket comes way down the pecking order of favoured sports.  But when it comes to making statements, Peter Drinnen has made quite a few strong ones in the course of this interview.  Let’s hope by the time his boys come home from their Caribbean adventure, they will have made a few more.

RO

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