Cricket: The 12th man who ran rings round the rest

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Coach Tony Sail copped plenty when he sent his Auckland team on a pre-season half- marathon over the Harbour Bridge.

On Wednesday at Colin Maiden Park, Sail had a quiet chuckle as rookie captain Brooke Walker received the State Championship Trophy.

"Running the half-marathon was not about running, it was about discipline and mental toughness," the 44-year-old Sail said.

While three of the first-class team coaches - Glenn Turner, Dipak Patel and Bruce Blair - boast international cricket as part of their learning experience, Sail, the only coach of the six not to have played first-class cricket, took a different approach.

"Setting them that task [the half-marathon] was about meeting a challenge and preparing properly. That spilled over to their cricket."

Sail's other triumph was in promoting young players who had come through Auckland Cricket's academy and winter training programme.

"There was an element of risk, but we had little option given the number of players we had involved with the national side.

"Injuries - and the pre-season work played a part in this - were not much of a factor.

"[Young batsman] Nick Horsley is one example of our determination to promote younger players.

"He had a pretty lean time of it, averaging only 14-15 with the bat. But we made a hard decision to stick with him. When it counted he came up trumps."

Horsley's maiden first-class century in the final match against defending champions Wellington steered Auckland to their first four-day championship success in six seasons.

"It was a big help having Mark Richardson and, in particular, Matt Horne available for most of the early games, especially given the lack of experience in our side," Sail said.

"It is neat to win a championship and at the same time create some depth. It has taken me four years to win this."

Sail came north from Hawkes Bay, where he had played Hawke Cup cricket and was 12th man for Central Districts eight or nine times, to take a coaching development role with Auckland Cricket.

But when David Trist quit after the first year of a two-year contract with Auckland to coach the national side, Sail stepped up.

He is set to return to the development role he left three years ago.

Determined to give youth a chance and "flush out some players," Sail called for more off-season work.

"I don't think we got it quite right immediately, but things have evolved from there.

"During this season Auckland have given Sanjeewa Silva, Rob Nicol, Gareth Shaw, Rob Lynch, Matt Cairns and Nick Horsley their first chance.

"They have all made a contribution.

"I'm very happy to hand them on to whoever steps in. There is a great team spirit and the work ethic is as good as ever.

"The change of leadership has worked well. There were some sceptics who doubted Brooke Walker's ability to take over as captain.

"It hasn't been all plain sailing, but now he is able to say he won a championship in his first season."

Unlike many associations, Auckland continue to stick with a home-grown policy.

"All the young guys have come through our winter academies. That meant some changes.

"We had to get competitive.

"We had to shake off the monkey of winning through to finals then choking."

Sail shrugs off his lack of first-class playing experience.

"In a way, I represent the coaches who came from a system.

"You don't have to have climbed a mountain to lead others to the top. That was the philosophy which kept me going.

"Sometimes I doubted whether I had the experience to do it. But I had the support of the board and review committee to carry on."

Sail said the outright win over Central Districts in the eighth round was a turning point.

"We were bundled out for 70 in the first innings, but came back to win."

That was a champion effort from a champion side, and one which underlined the new-found confidence Sail has instilled in his players.