Cricket

New Proteas coach Rob Walter excited about the future

A new Proteas coaching team and the arrival of the SA20 means these are exciting times for domestic players, and new white-ball coach Rob Walter is equally excited for the future of South African cricket.

Walter, having been the strength and conditioning specialist for the Proteas and then a successful coach with the Titans, has been away in New Zealand for the last six-and-a-half years.

But being able to return to his homeland is a “dream come true” for the 47-year-old, and Walter is sure South Africa has the talent to be dominant once again.

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“You never know where life is going to take you, but I’ve always been so strongly connected to South African cricket and I always kept an eye on it. I saw myself only coaching two national teams – either South Africa or New Zealand,” Walter said.

“When I look at the Proteas, I see a bunch of really talented cricketers in a country full of talent. Everything is there for success. I will just try and find the pushing points that lead to more consistency.

“I wouldn’t say the Proteas have not had good performances, they have done well along the way. They just need to find that consistency and how to express themselves.

“What the SA20 is doing for the domestic players is wonderful. We might not see it in one year’s time, but look at what the IPL did for Indian cricket and it’s hard not to think SA20 will do the same for us.”

Mixing youth and experience

While a new, relatively young coach may be expected to sweep clean and bring a lot of young players into the national squad, Walter is likely to make accommodation for both youth and experience in his team.

Coaching for six years in New Zealand has given him a different insight into how to get the best out of talent, something the Black Caps are extraordinarily good at, depending as they do on a much smaller player pool.

“There’s no one answer as to why New Zealand is so good at getting the most out of a smaller pool,” Walter said.

“It’s something we’ve discussed at length, how they create a Black Caps team that performs across all three formats.

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“One of the answers though is that the lack of resources compared to the rest of the world makes us hold on to players for longer. If you look at the average age of the Black Caps at the last World Cup, they were far more experienced than most other sides,” he added.

“So when players are chosen for the first time, they have been in domestic cricket for a fair number of years. Around the world you see a lot more younger bolters, and there seems to be a real hunger and thirst for the next big youngster to be chosen. In New Zealand, they are more patient, and highly competitive because the team has a broad age spectrum.

“International experience is important, but you also need to future-proof your squad because there are going to be retirements to go to T20 leagues, that’s almost inevitable, as well as injuries.

“So I also want to create opportunities for youngsters to show their capabilities. It’s going to be a performance-driven environment, we’ve got to respect and reward that,” Walter said when explaining his ideas around selection.

Environment is key

When it comes to coaching, Walter says his approach revolves around creating an environment in which the players can express themselves freely.

“I will just try and bring my most authentic self to the position. I guess my strength is building an environment which makes the players excited,” Walter said.

“I’m a collaborative-style coach, the players must decide the culture, but the buck stops with me. I’m not naïve nor arrogant, I know the Proteas had quality coaches prior to me who did wonderful jobs.

“But hopefully I can bring a different energy. Potentially just a slightly different voice will hopefully inspire more consistent performances. I will encourage the players to express themselves.

“We need to put some pride back in the Proteas team. Hopefully they can just express themselves more in the key moments, back themselves and not shy away.”

The father of two says he looks forward to working closely with new Test coach Shukri Conrad, who said a fortnight ago that “I work very well with Rob, I’ve always had a fabulous relationship with him. We share similar ideals and there’s lots of synergy between us, it’s like a joint venture.”

“I was very excited about the whole idea of split coaching and Shukri’s appointment,” Walter said. “I feel the same about him, since I was at the Titans and he was scouting for the national academy, I have always loved our conversations about South African cricket and to be able to work with him is an exciting opportunity.

“Our synergy is going to be vital given that we are heading into new territory. But we do things similarly and we have a strong relationship, we’re on the same page,” Walter said.

World Cup pressure

Of course, anyone coming into the Proteas coaching post is expected to be the one who takes South Africa to their maiden World Cup title. Walter knows he is going to be under pressure even without the World Cup baggage.

“There’s going to be pressure whichever way you look at it,” Walter said, “but there is a world tournament every year until 2028, so there is going to be attention surrounding our World Cup record.

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“We need to manage the expectation and let different players experience it because the Proteas are always under pressure at marquee events.

‘Perhaps different preparation for those tournaments and playing more world cups and having our younger guys in the cauldron of the SA20 will hopefully allow them to deal with pressure differently.

“I’ve been in the changeroom when the quicksand arrives and we need to be more excited by the pressure, have slightly different conversations around it.”

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