sid_19840
International Coach
A while back we had asked you to post some questions for the England and Australian National Managers,Ryno and Infinious respectively.Im happy to say that the answers to them have come back.Firstly we must really appreciate that both have taken time off from their busy schedules(Ryno infact replying to this while being on holiday),so I really hope that everyone reads the interview.Please post any views or thoughts on the interview in this thread.Thanks.
Q)(To Ryno):Were you surprised that you were appointed as the England Manager despite managing a team in Division V?
Ryno:"I was actually. Despite knowing that I had a large backing behind me, I thought that the NT would have a lot more interest in it after winning the WC.I was wrong about this but it was also an eye opener to many people which is definitely a good thing for the future of Battrick as it showed that anything can happen and nothing should be taken for granted."
Q)(To Infinious):When did you know that you were going to be the national team manager and what were your initial reactions to it?
Infinious:"Well... I'd hate to admit this and I fear this admission would make me sound arrogant, but I initially suspected I would become the next Australian National coach during the election when there didn't seem to be any credible challenge to my bid or, rather, any challenge that had a chance to overcome the apparent lead that I had. I did suspect that Lowrider did have a slight chance to overtake me due to the number of people that seemed to be posting in his election thread, but my fears were allayed.
My initial reaction was subdued more because I knew that I had a tough job ahead of me to try to beat England. I guess it'd be more accurate to say I was accepting of the fact. Really, it is another challenge to try and overcome. I just hope that I do lead Australia to the World Cup in the end.
(I suspect that this was probably a lot more than you were expecting as an answer. In response to that, I say "Tough luck."
) "
Q)Whats the best tip you would give to a newbie?
Ryno:"Get yourself a mentor or at least talk to someone who has been in the game for a while and can offer some sound advice about which way to move forward.The problem that some people have when just starting, is that they use most of their money almost immediately, thus hampering their chances of getting somewhere in the near future."
Infinious:"The best tip I would give to a newbie at the moment is to try and buy cheap bowling trainees and train them in bowling and fitness. As things stand, bowlers tend to get battered more in terms of player fitness when games start to come around. However, in my mind, it is your bowlers that make or break a game. I like the analogy of a group of assassins trying to take out a single target. The assassins only have to be lucky once to win. The batsman, on the other hand, have to be lucky all the time. If you have a great bowling side, I think your team will be a lot more successful that a team with a great batting lineup.
That's not to say, however, that batting should be ignored. I'm just saying that, if you have a choice between a strong batting lineup and a strong bowling lineup, I'd prefer the strong bowling lineup. (Ironically, I'd classify my team as a strong batting team with Lloyd Stanton as a gun bowler.)
However, fitness is also something that should not be ignored. With the introduction of FC matches in the very near future (probably a few weeks from the time this interview will get posted) and the fact that players will have at least double the workload, player fitness will become crucial to the success of a team, as well as tactics.
Another good piece of advise I would give would be to not invest in a Youth Academy until you can cope financially with the costs of a youth academy. At the moment, the benefits are too random for new players to gain any consistent benefit and the money can be better spent (or saved) somewhere else."
Q)(To Ryno):What do you think is the best way to beat Australia?
Ryno:"I believe the best way to achieve this, is to be at your greatest potential before meeting them. This would be by means of having your squad at full fitness, sky high morale and having the best knowledge possible of the opponents strengths and weaknesses. Scouting is a powerful thing in battrick and we all have to use it to our greatest strength whilst also taking everything else into consideration."
Q)(To Infinious):What do you think is the best way to beat England?
Infinious:"I think it would depend on the situation. As it is, Australia is probably slightly behind on England in terms of player skills (although I believe we are closing that gap slightly) so we do need to outthink our opposition and try to find, quickly, the best strategies and positions our batsmen and bowlers are suited to on certain pitches. In a World Cup, if the previous World Cup was anything to go by, we would have to cater for the fact that we will be bowling on a Hard and Fast pitch most of the time. However, we cannot depend on this fact alone and should take into account all contingencies.
Of course, my other option would be to meet up with Ryno and shout him a drink... or two... or fifty... "
Q)Why do you think the transfer market has inflated so much?
Ryno:"This has to be to do with the number of players that have now joined,which has pushed the demand for the better players through the roof. I believed that this would actually decrease slightly, but as yet I am still waiting for that to happen.
"
Infinious:"I think there are many factors in this. One factor some people have mentioned is straight economics: there is an undersupply of top quality players when the demand for said quality players is sky-high. When this happens, the price has to go up since there are some people that are willing to pay a premium for a certain player.
I think the second reason was the general feeling among the National teams brains trust that were expecting that the transfer market would head down after FC games were introduced since they believed that people were overestimating the impact that FC games would have on player fitness and, with this excess of players, there would be a massive player glut in the market. This prediction has, since, been found to be extremely inaccurate.
The third reason, I feel, is the fact that people are getting richer. They are steadily getting more money from playing home games, friendlies and from getting the FC subsidy. A lot of people would be getting a net gain of members, meaning that they are also getting a net increase from home games. I would also expect that most people would be making a new profit every 2 weeks. More money means that managers can spend more on players, which drives up the price of players.
There are probably more reasons, but those are the 3 that come to my mind right now. It is pure psychology. The 2nd reason probably did not have a great affect on the market, but the 1st and 3rd reason definitely did."
Q)How do you get the time to manage both the NT and your own league team?
Ryno: "I don't.Basically I am lucky that I am able to manage the NT whilst being in an 'easy' division as my team has virtually picked itself all season without me having scout my opposition before each match. I know that I will have to make time to do this next season so I have decided to drop my other battrick side projects to enable me to have more time to ensure that England win the WC and that I finish in the top 3 of my new league."
Infinious:"Generally speaking, I spend a lot more time with the National team that my own league team because my own league team generally runs itself amd doesn't really require too much management. Given that, I tend to find plenty of time with the National team provided that real life doesn't get in the way."
Q)What sort of level of fitness do you think player will need to be able to play two One Day games and a first class game each week without a severe decline of personal fitness?
Ryno:"It will be impossible for each player to be able to do this under the current conditions of the game, but I understand that Allan is making a slight change to this. It's difficult to answer this question without knowing the full in and outs of Allan's changes, but I will say that a player would need to have at least Strong stamina to ensure that they can play this many games in a week without the PFL dropping a considerably high amount. But remember, that is just a guess."
Infinious:"Thinking about this question, I'm starting to think it is extremely hard to have the best of both worlds. A general rule of thumb that I use is that a bowler will lose 1 level of player fitness for every 10 overs he bowls and batsman lose 1 level of player fitness for every 50 overs he bats for. I believe another website has found that a player with superb stamina will recover a level of player fitness every 2 days. If we make the assumption that a bowler will bowl 50 overs in total (30 for the FC game and 10 for each OD) that's about 5 levels of player fitness and only 3.5 levels recovered. Considering this, a player that does play both would need to be rested completely every 3rd or 4th week. This is for a player with superb stamina only. I cannot imagine how tragic it would be if a manager played a player in both with competent or, worse, feeble stamina. "
Q) What sort of pace will batsman need to score at to force a result in a 3-day FC game?
Ryno:"Your guess is as good as mine. Looking at the way that the OD players score, then you should really be looking at maybe no less than 4 runs per over. 3 day games are very hard to judge, especially when you could be up against any level of opposition. Maybe ask me this question again once the season has started. "
Infinious:"I don't really think pace is a real issue. I believe the real issue is how long a batting lineup can last in a 3 day FC game. The longer a game goes, the less time you give your opponent to chase your target (and yourself if you bat again.) While scoring those runs quickly will be nice, if wickets fall as quickly as you are scoring, then your efforts are all for nought if you give your opponent an entire day to chase 100."
Q)How many seats does your league ground have (not aussie one)?
Ryno:"The Cereal Bowl currently holds 25,000 which I think will be enough until I get up into Div III and stay there for longer than one season."
Infinious:"My ground has 30,000 seats because I had expected to do slightly better than what has actually happened in the league. I upgraded from a 20,000 seat stadium after promoting into division III but I had expected a top 2 finish instead of top 4. Mind you, the sudden change in the structure of National team fixtures meant that my ability to play Stanton lowered my chances significantly. "
Q)What is your best ever victory?
Ryno:"It's hard to say really. I probably have never had a 'best' victory yet, but the one that sticks in my mind is when I beat Zanarkand Abes in my first season. "
Infinious:"It is hard for me to make a judgement on my best ever victory. However, I would say beating Wicket Heads (a New Zealand division II team) in a JFW Cup match (a game where both of us took the friendly seriously and, thus, played our star players) was probably the most noteworthy victory I've had for my league team. However, beating England in my first match as National coach was definitely a plus since the game was, in reality, a neutral game since I had no control of the pitch. Admittedly, the 2nd game probably could have been played better on my part. "
Q)What is your worst ever defeat?
Ryno:"Losing against the Aussies in my first match in charge of the NT."
Infinious:"As a league team, I've had a couple of matches where my team has been absoutlely humiliated. The Legends of Rock, in my old division IV league, is a team where I seem to have a couple of problems with. He's gotten me all out for less than a nice total. However, my 3rd game as National coach against Sri Lanka was definitely a defeat that was definitely my worst in my Battrick career. "
Q)(To Ryno) Who is your best league player? How long did it take you to train him?
Ryno:"My best player is Crawford. I got lucky in the TL at the end of last season and managed to spot this player. I had a close look at him and noticed that he had an incredible scoring record for a non NT player.He had hit centuries in each of his last 7 matches and is still on the list of the top century scorers, as well as all time run scorers. I haven't trained him up at all, as I have wanted to build an all round team instead of a superstar."
Q)(To Infinious) How long did it take you to train Lloyd Stanton?
Infinious:"I've been training Stanton since the beginning. Admittedly, I didn't train him as hard as I should have in the beginning since I figured that my best option would be to train as many players equally. However, when it became apparent that Stanton was definitely in the frame for Nationals and U19 selection, I upped his nets and been training him as hard as I could. Basically, I got lucky with Stanton. I would not expect new players to depend on getting a player like Stanton every youth pull, especially with the way the Youth Academy has changed. "
Q)How much time do you spend on Battrick every week?
Ryno:"Too much, though the wife makes that known to me almost every week.It's hard to say exactly how long, but I have a couple of other side projects that usually use up a total of about 4 hours every week. I'd say about 12-14 hours I'd spend on there in a week, but that is probably an understatement and it is far more which would be scary. "
Infinious:"I think it is hard to say since I don't keep an active tab on how long I would spend on Battrick. I would make a reasonable estimate that I would spend about 15 hours a week on Battrick. Maybe a bit longer... A lot of time on Sunday and/or Friday to watch the games and about an hour or so every other day looking at the forums, checking the teams etc. "
Q)How do you think you'll do in the up coming ashes?
Ryno:"Win of course. It will be difficult for both NT managers involved as it will be an insight into something new for everyone. I'd hope to win at least one test match but I guess we will have to wait and see with huge excitement of course. "
Infinious:"I think it is very hard to say. We don't know the relative differences in skill level between England and Australia and where the difference lies. If Australia have weaker primaries but stronger secondaries, then I'd said we are a very good chance of winning the Ashes. I would like to think this is the case. Whether it is or not is another matter. We shall have to wait and see. "
Q)Whats the secret to training up good youth pulls?
Ryno:"I don't think there is a secret. Everyone seems to do something different. Personally, I won't train anything that is below a respectable primary in their main skill. With the caps that have been made on players progressing, I personally don't think that training anything below that is worth it. So that could mean that you train a good YP that you have, or you go to the transfer market."
Infinious:"I think the secret is to load up on nets as soon as possible and as young as possible. I think that is the only thing that is important. I believe the quicker you can get a player up to the standard you want, the longer you have him at the required level and the quicker you can take on another trainee. What is the required level, you may ask? It would depend on your personal circumstances. Personally, I believe stopping training once a player hits 19/20 is a wise move. At around that time, the incentive to train such a player decreases significantly I feel due to the slower training times. (I'm aware I'm breaking my own advise with Stanton but those are special circumstances.) "
Q)Any secrets to your success?
Ryno:"I haven't had any success! My tips for success would be to be prepared to put the time in to scouting your opponents whilst also finding out your own players' strengths and weaknesses. "
Infinious:"I don't think there is a secret to my success, personally. For my league team, I got extremely (and absurdly) lucky in terms of my youth pulls under the old system (which was based on the oHTer game.) A large percentage of those youth pulls remain in my team. Those whom I have trained up for a while are still in my first team while those I haven't are replacable backups for my team. I don't think I've really won many games via tactics (although I may be wrong here.) My basic plan, given the circumstances, was always to tread water until I felt I was ready to make the leap up into division III. I'm not arguing for people to throw games here. Don't get me wrong. I tried as hard as I could to win those games that I lost. However, if things didn't go so well that season, I knew it wasn't the end of the road and I kept to my plan. "
Q) Don't you feel the effects of morale and the gap between numbers of members in each country has too great an effect on NT matches?
Ryno:"Well you can understand the effect on the amount of members in each country on NT matches, as this is true to real life. You don't get Holland winning loads of matches yet do you? As for the morale, it probably does have a slightly too be effect, but when you are winning matches the urge is there to continue winning and having high morale does assist with that happening. "
Infinious:"Well... Going by the current announcement about Season 5, I'd say the effects of morale will have less of an influence over NT matches. I think this is a good sign from BT in an attempt to address the large differentials in the strength of the teams to a small degree. However, I'd say the power of numbers will dictate how things will play for a while yet. I would expect it to take a very long time before this differences in size is closed in upon. When the power gap will be crossed is hard to determine exactly at the moment, I think. It will depend on what assumptions you are making on when the training of current National team (and, to a lesser degree, current U19 players) from the big 2 countries will stop. Personally, I suspect that will happen in the not-to-distant future as wages are starting to become unaffordable for a lot of teams, some of whom don't have the member base and/or stadium to support such wages without crippling their team in the process. "
Q) If given an option to move to another country, but in doing so you may have to sacrifice your current squad, but will get extremely convienient timings for matches and stuff, would you do it?
Ryno:"Never. Not even worth considering for a moment. Despite living in Australia and my team playing in England, I feel that the timings of matches is at a nice time for me seeing as I don't have access to battrick at work. I can just sit down in the evenings with battrick there and I can see my matches happening, when they happen instead of looking back at the commentary. "
Infinious:"That's an easy one. No. Sacrificing my current squad is definitely out of the question at the moment since the strength of my team is so strong that losing it would hurt me deep inside and would make me consider not rejoining at all if it were to happen. Besides, not watching games is a sacrifice I'd be willing to make if it comes down to it. "
Q)What suggestion do you have for a newish team slightly struggling financial wise, in danger of being relegated?
Ryno:"Stick with it. Don't give up if you can help it as there will be a great sense of achievement if you do survive and you will easily learn from the experience. "
Infinious:"My suggestion would be to try to cut back on as many costs as you can. If you have any psychologists, fire them except maybe 1. Stop investing in your academy. Cut back on training (this will hurt long term, but short term, this is fine.) Your financial base is an important asset that you need to keep an eye on. If you can't afford your team, then you'll have to sell players. Almost a catch-22 situation. Another thought that you could consider is that relegation may be a good thing to happen if you are really getting beaten up hard in league. Then you use the (hopefully) extra income you'll make since you'll be winning games to get yourself out of the gutter and slingshot your way into promotion (in the best-case scenario) "
Q)Do you ever get bored with battrick?
Ryno:"Not since the day that I first signed up. There is so much to take into consideration and the fact that I can watch my match ball for ball is just excellent."
Infinious:"Well... There are times I feel the need to walk away from Battrick for a while. Sometimes, it is because of boredom. Sometimes it is from pure frustration and anger about the result. Walking away from the game for a short while to cool off and try to find your groove back is fine. Try to find something else you enjoy and focus on that for a short while, remembering to log in once in a while if your break goes for that long. Sometimes the break helps as you'll come back more refreshed and motivated to continue slogging it out, trying to outthink your opponent. "
Q)Is there a battrick player you fear playing against, if so, who is it?
Ryno:"Not really. I don't think it has quite got to that level yet of having a team that you just can't beat. Of course, you would never like to play against the Ladbrokes and the Bulldogs of the Battrick world, but I don't think it is a fear."
Infinious:"I find it helps to not really fear anyone. There are definitely players I would rather not play if given the option, but I would not fear them. In this case, all fear does is cloud your judgement and act as a barrier to try and find ways to win games. Your mindset would be more akin to minimizing losses instead of maximising returns. If you are that far behind, then you have less to lose. Sometimes, it won't pay off but it is better to find out than to not try. "
Q>How old are you? and how do you manage your time with school/uni/work etc.
Ryno:"I'm 28 and I generally spend most nights on Battrick after my daughter had gone to bed."
Infinious:"I turned 20 last month and mananging to juggle Uni/Battrick/Casual work has caused my social life to die of starvation. Not that a social life is that important.
Seriously, it is hard work and sometimes I don't get the balance right. I guess I have a lot of experience with this balancing act. In the oHTer game, I was the National Coach of Oceania while doing my Year 12 exams. I guess you get used to it after a while. "
Q)What has been More Sucessful for you? Buying a Player out of the Transfer Market or Pulling a player out of the YA?
Ryno:"So far it has been buying a player off of the transfer market, but I believe that when this season ends, it will be pulling a player from the YA (I have a nice trainee who could well be Superb at the end of the season, now that it has been extended by 2 weeks)."
Infinious:"In the old system, I've had way too much success as one would think possible with my youth academy. The youth pulls I have gotten are almost obscene. There's Stanton, Simkins, Richardson and Greo in my first XI that I trained up and I sold Terry Elsegood. (current Australian U19 player) It got to a point where I thought to myself whether or not I could survive without ever having to purchase a player. That didn't last long, but the point is taken.
I haven't really made too many moves on the transfer market since I've always felt that a lot of players were too expensive (since I was expecting an eventual downturn) and, having been proven wrong, I've had to save a lot more just to get the players I want. It all depends on luck, really.
So I guess, be default, Youth Academy wins... For now. "
Q) What are the Correct Nets to give to a bowler? A Batsman?
Ryno:"Depends what kind of batsman or a bowler you are after. Personally if I wanted to train a bowler I would give them 2 bowling, 2 stamina and a fielding net to being with and then change this around as they progress.As for a batsman, I would go 2 batting, 2 fitness, 1 fielding and 1 WK.All of this does depend though on how many trainees you have and what levels your other players are currently at. "
Infinious:"I think it depends on what you aim to achieve with each player. If you want to best batsman or bowler possible in the shortest amount of time, then you'd have 1 fitness for stamina (unless he's already at superb stamina), 3 bowling/batting (whichever is appropriate) and 1 fielding and 1 wicketkeeping (for the secondaries of concentration/consistency). However, that comes at the expense of developing the rest of your team. At the moment, I think focusing on 3 players is probably the best way around this ie. you'd train 2 bowlers and a batter with one getting the full 3 primary and a fitness net and the other 2 getting 2 primary nets and a fitness net. This is mostly because the time it takes for a young player to level in secondaries drops as players get older, so it is better to focus on primaries as quickly and as early as possible. "
Q)Finally what message to you have to the Battrick lovers at PlanetCricket?
Ryno:"Please get more involved in supporting your country. There is what seems a lack of interest in the matches of the NT and the U19's, for England anyway, and we would like this to start increasing and people making it known that they are following the game. "
Infinious:"If you enjoyed this interview, please pay for my Membership. 3 months will be fine.
Seriously, I wish them all the best and hope they all do well. Well... Maybe not as well as me... Oops... Did I say that out aloud? Sorry. "
Q)(To Ryno):Were you surprised that you were appointed as the England Manager despite managing a team in Division V?
Ryno:"I was actually. Despite knowing that I had a large backing behind me, I thought that the NT would have a lot more interest in it after winning the WC.I was wrong about this but it was also an eye opener to many people which is definitely a good thing for the future of Battrick as it showed that anything can happen and nothing should be taken for granted."
Q)(To Infinious):When did you know that you were going to be the national team manager and what were your initial reactions to it?
Infinious:"Well... I'd hate to admit this and I fear this admission would make me sound arrogant, but I initially suspected I would become the next Australian National coach during the election when there didn't seem to be any credible challenge to my bid or, rather, any challenge that had a chance to overcome the apparent lead that I had. I did suspect that Lowrider did have a slight chance to overtake me due to the number of people that seemed to be posting in his election thread, but my fears were allayed.
My initial reaction was subdued more because I knew that I had a tough job ahead of me to try to beat England. I guess it'd be more accurate to say I was accepting of the fact. Really, it is another challenge to try and overcome. I just hope that I do lead Australia to the World Cup in the end.
(I suspect that this was probably a lot more than you were expecting as an answer. In response to that, I say "Tough luck."
) "Q)Whats the best tip you would give to a newbie?
Ryno:"Get yourself a mentor or at least talk to someone who has been in the game for a while and can offer some sound advice about which way to move forward.The problem that some people have when just starting, is that they use most of their money almost immediately, thus hampering their chances of getting somewhere in the near future."
Infinious:"The best tip I would give to a newbie at the moment is to try and buy cheap bowling trainees and train them in bowling and fitness. As things stand, bowlers tend to get battered more in terms of player fitness when games start to come around. However, in my mind, it is your bowlers that make or break a game. I like the analogy of a group of assassins trying to take out a single target. The assassins only have to be lucky once to win. The batsman, on the other hand, have to be lucky all the time. If you have a great bowling side, I think your team will be a lot more successful that a team with a great batting lineup.
That's not to say, however, that batting should be ignored. I'm just saying that, if you have a choice between a strong batting lineup and a strong bowling lineup, I'd prefer the strong bowling lineup. (Ironically, I'd classify my team as a strong batting team with Lloyd Stanton as a gun bowler.)
However, fitness is also something that should not be ignored. With the introduction of FC matches in the very near future (probably a few weeks from the time this interview will get posted) and the fact that players will have at least double the workload, player fitness will become crucial to the success of a team, as well as tactics.
Another good piece of advise I would give would be to not invest in a Youth Academy until you can cope financially with the costs of a youth academy. At the moment, the benefits are too random for new players to gain any consistent benefit and the money can be better spent (or saved) somewhere else."
Q)(To Ryno):What do you think is the best way to beat Australia?
Ryno:"I believe the best way to achieve this, is to be at your greatest potential before meeting them. This would be by means of having your squad at full fitness, sky high morale and having the best knowledge possible of the opponents strengths and weaknesses. Scouting is a powerful thing in battrick and we all have to use it to our greatest strength whilst also taking everything else into consideration."
Q)(To Infinious):What do you think is the best way to beat England?
Infinious:"I think it would depend on the situation. As it is, Australia is probably slightly behind on England in terms of player skills (although I believe we are closing that gap slightly) so we do need to outthink our opposition and try to find, quickly, the best strategies and positions our batsmen and bowlers are suited to on certain pitches. In a World Cup, if the previous World Cup was anything to go by, we would have to cater for the fact that we will be bowling on a Hard and Fast pitch most of the time. However, we cannot depend on this fact alone and should take into account all contingencies.
Of course, my other option would be to meet up with Ryno and shout him a drink... or two... or fifty...
"Q)Why do you think the transfer market has inflated so much?
Ryno:"This has to be to do with the number of players that have now joined,which has pushed the demand for the better players through the roof. I believed that this would actually decrease slightly, but as yet I am still waiting for that to happen.
"Infinious:"I think there are many factors in this. One factor some people have mentioned is straight economics: there is an undersupply of top quality players when the demand for said quality players is sky-high. When this happens, the price has to go up since there are some people that are willing to pay a premium for a certain player.
I think the second reason was the general feeling among the National teams brains trust that were expecting that the transfer market would head down after FC games were introduced since they believed that people were overestimating the impact that FC games would have on player fitness and, with this excess of players, there would be a massive player glut in the market. This prediction has, since, been found to be extremely inaccurate.
The third reason, I feel, is the fact that people are getting richer. They are steadily getting more money from playing home games, friendlies and from getting the FC subsidy. A lot of people would be getting a net gain of members, meaning that they are also getting a net increase from home games. I would also expect that most people would be making a new profit every 2 weeks. More money means that managers can spend more on players, which drives up the price of players.
There are probably more reasons, but those are the 3 that come to my mind right now. It is pure psychology. The 2nd reason probably did not have a great affect on the market, but the 1st and 3rd reason definitely did."
Q)How do you get the time to manage both the NT and your own league team?
Ryno: "I don't.Basically I am lucky that I am able to manage the NT whilst being in an 'easy' division as my team has virtually picked itself all season without me having scout my opposition before each match. I know that I will have to make time to do this next season so I have decided to drop my other battrick side projects to enable me to have more time to ensure that England win the WC and that I finish in the top 3 of my new league."
Infinious:"Generally speaking, I spend a lot more time with the National team that my own league team because my own league team generally runs itself amd doesn't really require too much management. Given that, I tend to find plenty of time with the National team provided that real life doesn't get in the way."
Q)What sort of level of fitness do you think player will need to be able to play two One Day games and a first class game each week without a severe decline of personal fitness?
Ryno:"It will be impossible for each player to be able to do this under the current conditions of the game, but I understand that Allan is making a slight change to this. It's difficult to answer this question without knowing the full in and outs of Allan's changes, but I will say that a player would need to have at least Strong stamina to ensure that they can play this many games in a week without the PFL dropping a considerably high amount. But remember, that is just a guess."
Infinious:"Thinking about this question, I'm starting to think it is extremely hard to have the best of both worlds. A general rule of thumb that I use is that a bowler will lose 1 level of player fitness for every 10 overs he bowls and batsman lose 1 level of player fitness for every 50 overs he bats for. I believe another website has found that a player with superb stamina will recover a level of player fitness every 2 days. If we make the assumption that a bowler will bowl 50 overs in total (30 for the FC game and 10 for each OD) that's about 5 levels of player fitness and only 3.5 levels recovered. Considering this, a player that does play both would need to be rested completely every 3rd or 4th week. This is for a player with superb stamina only. I cannot imagine how tragic it would be if a manager played a player in both with competent or, worse, feeble stamina. "
Q) What sort of pace will batsman need to score at to force a result in a 3-day FC game?
Ryno:"Your guess is as good as mine. Looking at the way that the OD players score, then you should really be looking at maybe no less than 4 runs per over. 3 day games are very hard to judge, especially when you could be up against any level of opposition. Maybe ask me this question again once the season has started.
"Infinious:"I don't really think pace is a real issue. I believe the real issue is how long a batting lineup can last in a 3 day FC game. The longer a game goes, the less time you give your opponent to chase your target (and yourself if you bat again.) While scoring those runs quickly will be nice, if wickets fall as quickly as you are scoring, then your efforts are all for nought if you give your opponent an entire day to chase 100."
Q)How many seats does your league ground have (not aussie one)?
Ryno:"The Cereal Bowl currently holds 25,000 which I think will be enough until I get up into Div III and stay there for longer than one season."
Infinious:"My ground has 30,000 seats because I had expected to do slightly better than what has actually happened in the league. I upgraded from a 20,000 seat stadium after promoting into division III but I had expected a top 2 finish instead of top 4. Mind you, the sudden change in the structure of National team fixtures meant that my ability to play Stanton lowered my chances significantly. "
Q)What is your best ever victory?
Ryno:"It's hard to say really. I probably have never had a 'best' victory yet, but the one that sticks in my mind is when I beat Zanarkand Abes in my first season. "
Infinious:"It is hard for me to make a judgement on my best ever victory. However, I would say beating Wicket Heads (a New Zealand division II team) in a JFW Cup match (a game where both of us took the friendly seriously and, thus, played our star players) was probably the most noteworthy victory I've had for my league team. However, beating England in my first match as National coach was definitely a plus since the game was, in reality, a neutral game since I had no control of the pitch. Admittedly, the 2nd game probably could have been played better on my part. "
Q)What is your worst ever defeat?
Ryno:"Losing against the Aussies in my first match in charge of the NT."
Infinious:"As a league team, I've had a couple of matches where my team has been absoutlely humiliated. The Legends of Rock, in my old division IV league, is a team where I seem to have a couple of problems with. He's gotten me all out for less than a nice total. However, my 3rd game as National coach against Sri Lanka was definitely a defeat that was definitely my worst in my Battrick career. "
Q)(To Ryno) Who is your best league player? How long did it take you to train him?
Ryno:"My best player is Crawford. I got lucky in the TL at the end of last season and managed to spot this player. I had a close look at him and noticed that he had an incredible scoring record for a non NT player.He had hit centuries in each of his last 7 matches and is still on the list of the top century scorers, as well as all time run scorers. I haven't trained him up at all, as I have wanted to build an all round team instead of a superstar."
Q)(To Infinious) How long did it take you to train Lloyd Stanton?
Infinious:"I've been training Stanton since the beginning. Admittedly, I didn't train him as hard as I should have in the beginning since I figured that my best option would be to train as many players equally. However, when it became apparent that Stanton was definitely in the frame for Nationals and U19 selection, I upped his nets and been training him as hard as I could. Basically, I got lucky with Stanton. I would not expect new players to depend on getting a player like Stanton every youth pull, especially with the way the Youth Academy has changed. "
Q)How much time do you spend on Battrick every week?
Ryno:"Too much, though the wife makes that known to me almost every week.It's hard to say exactly how long, but I have a couple of other side projects that usually use up a total of about 4 hours every week. I'd say about 12-14 hours I'd spend on there in a week, but that is probably an understatement and it is far more which would be scary. "
Infinious:"I think it is hard to say since I don't keep an active tab on how long I would spend on Battrick. I would make a reasonable estimate that I would spend about 15 hours a week on Battrick. Maybe a bit longer... A lot of time on Sunday and/or Friday to watch the games and about an hour or so every other day looking at the forums, checking the teams etc. "
Q)How do you think you'll do in the up coming ashes?
Ryno:"Win of course. It will be difficult for both NT managers involved as it will be an insight into something new for everyone. I'd hope to win at least one test match but I guess we will have to wait and see with huge excitement of course. "
Infinious:"I think it is very hard to say. We don't know the relative differences in skill level between England and Australia and where the difference lies. If Australia have weaker primaries but stronger secondaries, then I'd said we are a very good chance of winning the Ashes. I would like to think this is the case. Whether it is or not is another matter. We shall have to wait and see. "
Q)Whats the secret to training up good youth pulls?
Ryno:"I don't think there is a secret. Everyone seems to do something different. Personally, I won't train anything that is below a respectable primary in their main skill. With the caps that have been made on players progressing, I personally don't think that training anything below that is worth it. So that could mean that you train a good YP that you have, or you go to the transfer market."
Infinious:"I think the secret is to load up on nets as soon as possible and as young as possible. I think that is the only thing that is important. I believe the quicker you can get a player up to the standard you want, the longer you have him at the required level and the quicker you can take on another trainee. What is the required level, you may ask? It would depend on your personal circumstances. Personally, I believe stopping training once a player hits 19/20 is a wise move. At around that time, the incentive to train such a player decreases significantly I feel due to the slower training times. (I'm aware I'm breaking my own advise with Stanton but those are special circumstances.) "
Q)Any secrets to your success?
Ryno:"I haven't had any success! My tips for success would be to be prepared to put the time in to scouting your opponents whilst also finding out your own players' strengths and weaknesses. "
Infinious:"I don't think there is a secret to my success, personally. For my league team, I got extremely (and absurdly) lucky in terms of my youth pulls under the old system (which was based on the oHTer game.) A large percentage of those youth pulls remain in my team. Those whom I have trained up for a while are still in my first team while those I haven't are replacable backups for my team. I don't think I've really won many games via tactics (although I may be wrong here.) My basic plan, given the circumstances, was always to tread water until I felt I was ready to make the leap up into division III. I'm not arguing for people to throw games here. Don't get me wrong. I tried as hard as I could to win those games that I lost. However, if things didn't go so well that season, I knew it wasn't the end of the road and I kept to my plan. "
Q) Don't you feel the effects of morale and the gap between numbers of members in each country has too great an effect on NT matches?
Ryno:"Well you can understand the effect on the amount of members in each country on NT matches, as this is true to real life. You don't get Holland winning loads of matches yet do you? As for the morale, it probably does have a slightly too be effect, but when you are winning matches the urge is there to continue winning and having high morale does assist with that happening. "
Infinious:"Well... Going by the current announcement about Season 5, I'd say the effects of morale will have less of an influence over NT matches. I think this is a good sign from BT in an attempt to address the large differentials in the strength of the teams to a small degree. However, I'd say the power of numbers will dictate how things will play for a while yet. I would expect it to take a very long time before this differences in size is closed in upon. When the power gap will be crossed is hard to determine exactly at the moment, I think. It will depend on what assumptions you are making on when the training of current National team (and, to a lesser degree, current U19 players) from the big 2 countries will stop. Personally, I suspect that will happen in the not-to-distant future as wages are starting to become unaffordable for a lot of teams, some of whom don't have the member base and/or stadium to support such wages without crippling their team in the process. "
Q) If given an option to move to another country, but in doing so you may have to sacrifice your current squad, but will get extremely convienient timings for matches and stuff, would you do it?
Ryno:"Never. Not even worth considering for a moment. Despite living in Australia and my team playing in England, I feel that the timings of matches is at a nice time for me seeing as I don't have access to battrick at work. I can just sit down in the evenings with battrick there and I can see my matches happening, when they happen instead of looking back at the commentary. "
Infinious:"That's an easy one. No. Sacrificing my current squad is definitely out of the question at the moment since the strength of my team is so strong that losing it would hurt me deep inside and would make me consider not rejoining at all if it were to happen. Besides, not watching games is a sacrifice I'd be willing to make if it comes down to it. "
Q)What suggestion do you have for a newish team slightly struggling financial wise, in danger of being relegated?
Ryno:"Stick with it. Don't give up if you can help it as there will be a great sense of achievement if you do survive and you will easily learn from the experience. "
Infinious:"My suggestion would be to try to cut back on as many costs as you can. If you have any psychologists, fire them except maybe 1. Stop investing in your academy. Cut back on training (this will hurt long term, but short term, this is fine.) Your financial base is an important asset that you need to keep an eye on. If you can't afford your team, then you'll have to sell players. Almost a catch-22 situation. Another thought that you could consider is that relegation may be a good thing to happen if you are really getting beaten up hard in league. Then you use the (hopefully) extra income you'll make since you'll be winning games to get yourself out of the gutter and slingshot your way into promotion (in the best-case scenario) "
Q)Do you ever get bored with battrick?
Ryno:"Not since the day that I first signed up. There is so much to take into consideration and the fact that I can watch my match ball for ball is just excellent."
Infinious:"Well... There are times I feel the need to walk away from Battrick for a while. Sometimes, it is because of boredom. Sometimes it is from pure frustration and anger about the result. Walking away from the game for a short while to cool off and try to find your groove back is fine. Try to find something else you enjoy and focus on that for a short while, remembering to log in once in a while if your break goes for that long. Sometimes the break helps as you'll come back more refreshed and motivated to continue slogging it out, trying to outthink your opponent. "
Q)Is there a battrick player you fear playing against, if so, who is it?
Ryno:"Not really. I don't think it has quite got to that level yet of having a team that you just can't beat. Of course, you would never like to play against the Ladbrokes and the Bulldogs of the Battrick world, but I don't think it is a fear."
Infinious:"I find it helps to not really fear anyone. There are definitely players I would rather not play if given the option, but I would not fear them. In this case, all fear does is cloud your judgement and act as a barrier to try and find ways to win games. Your mindset would be more akin to minimizing losses instead of maximising returns. If you are that far behind, then you have less to lose. Sometimes, it won't pay off but it is better to find out than to not try.
" Q>How old are you? and how do you manage your time with school/uni/work etc.
Ryno:"I'm 28 and I generally spend most nights on Battrick after my daughter had gone to bed."
Infinious:"I turned 20 last month and mananging to juggle Uni/Battrick/Casual work has caused my social life to die of starvation. Not that a social life is that important.
Seriously, it is hard work and sometimes I don't get the balance right. I guess I have a lot of experience with this balancing act. In the oHTer game, I was the National Coach of Oceania while doing my Year 12 exams. I guess you get used to it after a while. "
Q)What has been More Sucessful for you? Buying a Player out of the Transfer Market or Pulling a player out of the YA?
Ryno:"So far it has been buying a player off of the transfer market, but I believe that when this season ends, it will be pulling a player from the YA (I have a nice trainee who could well be Superb at the end of the season, now that it has been extended by 2 weeks)."
Infinious:"In the old system, I've had way too much success as one would think possible with my youth academy. The youth pulls I have gotten are almost obscene. There's Stanton, Simkins, Richardson and Greo in my first XI that I trained up and I sold Terry Elsegood. (current Australian U19 player) It got to a point where I thought to myself whether or not I could survive without ever having to purchase a player. That didn't last long, but the point is taken.
I haven't really made too many moves on the transfer market since I've always felt that a lot of players were too expensive (since I was expecting an eventual downturn) and, having been proven wrong, I've had to save a lot more just to get the players I want. It all depends on luck, really.
So I guess, be default, Youth Academy wins... For now. "
Q) What are the Correct Nets to give to a bowler? A Batsman?
Ryno:"Depends what kind of batsman or a bowler you are after. Personally if I wanted to train a bowler I would give them 2 bowling, 2 stamina and a fielding net to being with and then change this around as they progress.As for a batsman, I would go 2 batting, 2 fitness, 1 fielding and 1 WK.All of this does depend though on how many trainees you have and what levels your other players are currently at. "
Infinious:"I think it depends on what you aim to achieve with each player. If you want to best batsman or bowler possible in the shortest amount of time, then you'd have 1 fitness for stamina (unless he's already at superb stamina), 3 bowling/batting (whichever is appropriate) and 1 fielding and 1 wicketkeeping (for the secondaries of concentration/consistency). However, that comes at the expense of developing the rest of your team. At the moment, I think focusing on 3 players is probably the best way around this ie. you'd train 2 bowlers and a batter with one getting the full 3 primary and a fitness net and the other 2 getting 2 primary nets and a fitness net. This is mostly because the time it takes for a young player to level in secondaries drops as players get older, so it is better to focus on primaries as quickly and as early as possible. "
Q)Finally what message to you have to the Battrick lovers at PlanetCricket?
Ryno:"Please get more involved in supporting your country. There is what seems a lack of interest in the matches of the NT and the U19's, for England anyway, and we would like this to start increasing and people making it known that they are following the game. "
Infinious:"If you enjoyed this interview, please pay for my Membership. 3 months will be fine.
Seriously, I wish them all the best and hope they all do well. Well... Maybe not as well as me... Oops... Did I say that out aloud? Sorry.
"
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