The role of an era in making a player or team successful

Success is all about focussing on what can be done rather than what cannot be done. Yes, internal factors do matter in producing quality performances consistently over a long period of time. But in a competitive environment, there are external factors which no one has control over and thus they could be also be a crucial determinant in differentiating the good and the great. A similar reference has been made in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and Harsha Bhogle’s book The Winning Way.

In the 1970s-80s, when Test cricket was the most dominant format of the game, West Indies under Clive Lloyd dominated the world like no other team had done. A lesser amount of cricket was played back then, with more substance in it. However, that very same team might have not been able to produce the same performances like Australia did from the late 90s until the late 2000s.

Australia managed to adapt to the ever dynamic ODI format quickly and master it just as Test matches, because they manufactured players who were able to do so or either Test/ODI specialists. Although their dominance did dwindle when T20 cricket and the IPL started to gain momentum, which is when teams such as India and South Africa began to climb the ladder.

A Jimmy Connors might not have won a Wimbledon in this decade with his Wilson T2000 steel racquet because today tennis is all about generating as much power as possible in shots played and speed when it comes to running across the court, rather than taking all the time in the world just to place the ball well and hoping for the best.

Roger Federer had his good qualities to have made him No.1 undoubtedly, but the quality and quantity of his competitors now have increased three fold and perhaps that is making him struggle at present.

Indian hockey also makes a compelling case. 30-40 years ago, we were on the top of the world in our national game, having won a numerous amount of World Cups and Olympic gold medals. However, the dynamics of the game required players to hit the ball hard by running all around the ground and not keep the ball to themselves for long by dribbling.

Not able to adjust to it in time, made the otherwise ‘beautiful’ style of Indian hockey, obsolete and that resulted in our rankings falling sharply over the years and subsequently, our interest in the game.

Being in a time warp irrespective of circumstances, is a sign of arrogance and ignorance. Quoting Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent of species that survive, but the one most responsive to change.”