There are few people across the world as qualified to discuss John Wright as Jeff Crowe is. The former New Zealand captain, coach and now ICC match referee played with the Indian coach for close to 10 years. Here are excerpts from a chat he had about his former mate with Chandresh Narayanan in KolkataWright as a coachJohn is a very good thinker, sound in the way he judges things. He doesn’t try and overdo things. India did a wise thing four years ago in selecting someone like him to take on the role. He has created a great culture in the team. You always had a greatly skilled team. But it has been obvious to me and the cricketing world that he has been able to help them gel together as a unit. It’s his ability to communicate and to make an environment that is actually conducive to good teamwork. Wright as a cricketer He is very careful with what he says. If he wants to impose himself as a coach of the Indian team, then he would do it in a very subtle manner. But when he was captain of New Zealand, he would be imposing himself because he would be showing that he had control over his team. So he can be very assertive and he can very strong and tough. Wright as a person He has his moments like most do. You may be angry inside, and I am sure John is from time to time. But that just shows the human elements in him. He will get annoyed with things if they don’t go according to plan, but he will express that maybe two per cent of the time. I have had many great moments with him. He can very serious and humorous at the same time. When I got a chance to be part of this series, I was thrilled. For I would get a chance to meet him. ‘John will know when to go’ He is a very intelligent guy. He will know when he needs to consider other options and look at other things. I also don’t think he will ever make any hasty decisions. But I don’t know what’s going on in his mind. He, as I said, is careful planner and a thinker. And I am sure he will make accurate decisions about himself, his life and, of course, Indian cricket.
