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| | Monday, 10 June, 2002, 07:08 GMT 08:08 UK Fletcher's influence on SA coach Simons has a reputation as being tough but fair
In Eric Simons, South Africa have appointed a man in the same mould as England coach Duncan Fletcher to lead them to next year's World Cup. Like Fletcher, for whom he played for several seasons at Western Province, Simons has a reputation as a no-nonsense operator, taking a back-to-basics approach to the game.
He has experienced immediate success at provincial level and his task over the next eight months will be to transfer that to the international arena. "It's probably come a little earlier than I might have hoped," Simons said of his appointment. "But it's what every domestic coach should be striving for so you take your chance gratefully if you're lucky enough to get one." When South Africa take the field against West Indies in the opening match of the tournament in Cape Town on 9 February Simons, and many of his players, will be in familiar surroundings. Of the 31 players named in a World Cup training squad last month, eight play their domestic cricket for Western Province - more than from any other side. That includes established stars such as Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten as well as players who have flourished with Simons as coach, including Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince. Meteroic rise As a seam bowler and lower-order bat, Simons spent 17 seasons at Newlands. And his retirement, bowing out at the end of 1998/99 with 80 runs and six wickets as WP won the domestic first-class final, began a meteoric coaching career.
A second team championship title in 1999/00 saw him appointed co-coach with Vincent Barnes of a star-studded, but underachieving, WP side that had won just a single match all year. Simons' elevation turned things around immediately, though, and the following season Province fans were again celebrating a SuperSport Series title. "I believe completely in building a team in which everyone contributes and everyone has their say," is how Simons describes the secret to his success. "Discipline is a non-negotiable part of my portfolio." South Africa leg-spinner Paul Adams, another Western Province man, is in no doubt that Simons is an excellent provincial coach. "He took over when we were experiencing testing times, but he and Vincent Barnes turned it around immediately," he says. "He's a superb guy and very well-respected. His strengths are in his thinking and the way he goes about things." Discipline As a recently-retired player there must be a suspicion that Simons will be too similar in style to his predecessor Graham Ford. Ford guided South Africa to seven series before being axed after this season's Test drubbing to Australia.
Ford was accused of not maintaining sufficient separation from the players he was supposed to be leading. But former Zimbabwe all-rounder Neil Johnson, who has played domestic cricket under both men, says that Simons has a detachment from the players that Ford does not. "He's one of the boys but he keeps his distance," Johnson says. "He has seen what Duncan Fletcher did as coach at Western Province and moulded his own style around that." Simons went on record in April to say what he thought was wrong with the national side when the Cape Argus newspaper polled several provincial coaches. "It looks as if the team is too individualistic," he said. "We've allowed the Australians to get into our heads and tried to play their way. Players seem to be in awe of Australia.
Johnson says that, while Simons is pleased by individual performances, it is the team's ability to pull together that pleases him most. "There are always going to be good players at Western Province but it is getting them to pull together as a team that has been key. "He has made me realise that once you are a senior player you have to lead the young guys rather than just going your own way." New challenge Both players agree that, despite his reputation, Simons is not a sergeant major figure. "He is a disciplinarian but he is fair - there is a time and a place for everything," says Adams. "He's a real people person," Johnson adds. "He can be hard but he really cares and he wants to bring out the best in every player." But Adams points out that the South African side will be a different proposition from domestic cricket at Newlands. "We'll have to see what new ideas he brings to the Test arena," he says, "because it is completely different from the provincial game." | | See also:  10 Jun 02 | Cricket 07 Jun 02 | Cricket 01 Jun 02 | Cricket 15 May 02 | Cricket Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Cricket stories now: Links to more Cricket stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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