Shane Warne was unimpressed by the new buzzwords and catch phrases in Australian cricket, saying it was “verbal diarrhoea” and that “it makes you vomit,” as the administration and team attempt to recover from the fallout of the ball-tampering scandal at Newlands in March.
“Can I cut to the chase here? They need to find the best captain, find who’s going to be the best captain for each form of the game and say ‘guys, run with me’,” Warne said while commentating for Fox Cricket during the first ODI against South Africa in Perth, where Australia suffered a heavy defeat. “Forget all the words, forget all the verbal diarrhoea and all that sort of stuff. That’s all rubbish, seriously, it makes you vomit.”
Warne’s comments, which won’t come as a huge surprise, came after a week of tumult in Australian cricket, following the release of a team and culture review. A 38-word Player Pact was unveiled, and on the eve of the Perth ODI, photos revealed words such as “patience”, “pressure” and “elite honesty” emblazoned in the Australian dressing room. “Elite honesty,” in particular, came under a lot of scrutiny on social media.
“You can write your 200-page document, you can have sports science and high performance and all that other ridiculous stuff,” Warne said. “I think some of the stuff they’re worrying about is trying to look like they’re doing the right thing. You can’t forget what Australians are, their DNA, and that is hard, aggressive, positive cricket and then play fairly.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to play cricket, it’s a simple game and it’s a performance-based game. You’ve got to perform on the field. All these words and everything, it’s all about actions and I think it’s all about basics. The captain and vice-captain lead the way and the rest come after you. You inspire, inspire from within with your performances and the way you perform on the field.
“None of this writing words, 200-page documents, just get out and play better.”
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