October 2005

Rixon departs The Oval office

Rob Steen
An unhappy two years at Surrey has left Steve Rixon with a dim view of English cricket. Rob Steen meets him


An unhappy two years at Surrey has left Steve Rixon with a dim view of English cricket. Rob Steen meets him.



Steve Rixon: 'I can't lie. I haven't enjoyed it. I haven't been able to do what I wanted to do' © Getty Images

Ludicrously demanding, undisciplined, shallow of talent, fearful of youth: even with experience, Steve Rixon's original view of English cricket has not altered overmuch.

The parallels are intriguing. Eminent Australian coach hits London trailing groaning trophy cabinets and talk of bravura new worlds, falls foul of locals and returns home with tail, if not betwixt legs, then certainly bristling. For John Buchanan and Middlesex read Rixon and Surrey. "I was hoping to have at least another year but it wasn't meant to be," says Rixon, a former New South Wales and New Zealand coach, whose two-year deal ended by "mutual consent". "I always insist on that because after that you can tell whether you're working in a system that can go forward. Goalposts couldn't be moved. You don't need more detail.

"I can't lie. I haven't enjoyed it. I haven't been able to do what I wanted to do. I'm quite relieved to be going. I like to build a club, work with marketing, set realistic budgets. That wasn't possible. Genuine pros like Mark Ramprakash have been a pleasure to deal with, but others aren't so professional or dedicated and I've struggled with that. And once it's an in-grown structure, there's not much you can do. This is the end of an era for Surrey but it's taking longer than anticipated. Losing Mark Butcher for most of the season was especially sad: he can drive things forward." Stuart Law, who has straddled county and state cricket more effectively than most, insists the former has become more intense, more competitive, more - yes - Australian. Rixon is unconvinced, mostly but not exclusively because of that hardy perennial - an overweight fixture list.

"Stuey's over here now. He's got to say that. You should have had people busting to replace Simon Jones at The Oval but all we had was a lot of tired fast bowlers. Take the quantity factor out - and that'll drag everyone down - and we are seeing a culture change among the younger players. They like enjoying themselves. But there's still not enough emphasis on winning. There shouldn't be points for draws. Too many teams are content with 12 points.

"For 25 years people have said the same thing about county cricket - there's too much. All you're doing now is capitalising on some very gifted players."

Could the same not be said of Australia? Sixteen months ago, after all, Rixon assured TWC that the well of talent, among bowlers especially, is shallow. "There's no comparison," he asserts, citing Brad Hodge and the Husseys as county swaggerers unable to penetrate Australia's Test XI. "Flintoff is the world's best player but depth is what's needed. And that's not going to happen under this system."

Buchanan, of course, left Lord's for a natty little number coaching the most successful international team of the age; what if Cricket Australia decide he is their handiest scapegoat? Pipped for the post by Buchanan five years ago, and the antithesis of the video-rewinding, Chinese-philosopher-quoting Queenslander (whose contract expires in October), Rixon comes as close as he can ever have come to occupying a fence. "Losing out to John was my biggest disappointment but I haven't got my eye on it. Then again, I never say no to anything."

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