Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Looking to implement CSK culture at Johannesburg – Fleming | Stephen Fleming talks about the new CSA T20 league
Stephen Fleming wishes to take forward the values of continuity and deepening relationships whilst coaching the Johannesburg Super Kings (JSK) in the SA20. JSK is owned by the Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL), which is the holding company of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
CSKCL roped in Fleming and Faf du Plessis as the head coach and captain of JSK respectively. Fleming has donned the coach’s role for CSK since 2009 onwards. Faf is a franchise veteran, having played 100 games and won three IPL titles for them.
“When you get people that you feel really comfortable with, the environment and who you’re with, the culture develops a lot quicker. And once you start to get that cohesion and those connections, the longer you can stay together or the more often you can get together, we think there’s an advantage in that,” Fleming was quoted in a report by ESPNcricinfo.
He added, “Our relationships runs deep and it hurts when we lose players and it’s exciting when we gain new players but relationships are really important and the support staff have been together…the thread of CSK runs pretty deep.”
Take learnings from CSK into Johannesburg – Fleming
Fleming appreciated the ownership for creating a comfortable environment in which all the players perform optimally during their time with the franchise.
In fact, CSKCL have even retained the same support staff for their SA20 venture. Eric Simmons and Albie Morkel will be the assistant coaches whereas Tommy Simsek will be the physio. Russell Radhakrishnan and Gregory King will wear the manager and trainer’s hats respectively. Morkel is an outlier here as he hasn’t coached CSK in any capacity previously. However, the 41-year-old represented the franchise from 2008-13 and won two IPL titles with them.
The fast-paced Wanderers track will be the home ground of the JSK. It marks a stark shift from the spin-friendly pitches in Chepauk that the CSK is used to operating in. However, Fleming and company are viewing it as an opportunity to discard any notions of them being a one-trick pony. He explained that CSK hasn’t been playing out of Chennai in the past few seasons either and that modern players are versatile enough to adapt to different playing conditions.
“We’ve done that just to make it a little bit harder for ourselves to show that we’re not a one-trick pony, which is not a strategic play that Faf was very keen on. But there is some change and one of the skillsets of the modern-day cricketers is that they play on so many different conditions and they’re very versatile. There’s no doubt we created an advantage in Chennai but we haven’t had that for the last three-four years either,” Fleming opened up on the issue.
He added, “So there’s been some real learning about how to adapt to situations and environments as well as looking after home environment as well. So, the first year and the first few weeks are going to be really important. It’s a long-term plan, which is what we’d like to learn as much as we can from the day we touch down and get together.”
The auctions for SA20 will be held on 19th September. JSK named Faf, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana, Romario Shepherd and Gerald Coetzee as their first five signings in the league.
However, Moeen is most likely to opt out considering that he has also committed to the Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20. The SA20 is set to be held during January-February 2022 and its dates will clash with the newly-launched ILT20. JSK will get the option of signing an additional player in the auctions due to Moeen’s withdrawal, Cricbuzz reports.
