Culture

The current ructions in the Australian cricket team appear to be all about commitment and adherence to team values.

 

AussieRulesBlog watched an interview of Adam Goodes last night (The New Back Page, Fox Sports) and, not for the first time, we were struck by the man's genuine commitment to his teammates.

We were completely gobsmacked by the recent revelations from the Australian swimming team's London campaign.

 

The common thread? The culture of the team and commitment to sporting excellence as a team. Another common thread? Teams with obviously poor culture tend not to perform to expectations. The Australian cricket team's current Indian tour and the Australian swimming team's much-hyped, but disappointing, London campaign would seem to offer examples.

 

Despite swimming being a largely individual sport, cultural dynamics in the team saw them deliver an uninspiring result. As taxpayers, we're entitled to expect taxpayer-funded athletes to prepare themselves in the most professional manner possible for the most important competition on their calendar.

The cricket tour of India must be one of the hardest asks of any sporting team, and while the goat track served up as a test cricket pitch in the second test didn't help, the commitment of some team members to overcome the inherent difficulties and make a competitive showing seems to have been well short of what we'd expect of the ccountry's elite cricketers.

In AFL terms, what damage did Travis Cloke's self-indulgent handling of contract negotiations do to his team's Premiership chances? Will Lance Franklin's similar stance cruel the Hawks' chances?

 

We reckon team success is a lot like rowing a boat. If one or two oarsmen are out of stroke, it's all but impossible to move effectively. If the other oarsmen aren't sure how hard the stroke oarsman is pulling, they're less likely to give the 110% required for success. Last year's AFL Grand Final might have been almost the ultimate expression of the old adage: a champion team will always beat a team of champions.