D'Costa cherishes his wards' success

NAGPUR: 'Everyone coaches what they can see but the challenge is to coach what one cannot see.' And Neil D'Costa, the former head coach of VCA residential academy does precisely that. He endorses frankness to the team, weaves no nonsense and doesn't shy away from being on the same pages of the players who tend to play out of the cricketing books.
In an era when coaching has become a textbook thing, D'Costa stands out to create a league of his own.He is a refreshing change from the bunch of traditional coaches. Yet, the man remains grounded. Hours after two of his disciples, Michael Clarke and Phillip Hughes, scored prolific hundreds, D'Costa sported no arrogance and got down to explain about the sessions he had with both the Australian batsmen prior to their Sri Lanka tour.
"Happy and excited," came an instant reply when asked his first reactions after Clarke (112) and Hughes (126) struck tons. "I am happy that all the hard work has paid off. The players have faced extreme criticism in the past six months and I am glad their innings helped Australia force a draw and win the series in Sri Lanka. However, there is still a long way for the Australians to go where they were at one stage," D'Costa told TOI on Tuesday.
"There were minor adjustments that needed to be done with (Michael) Clarke and Phillip (Hughes) both technically and mentally. However, we were sure that we had to do it tactically as well. During the small session at Sydney prior to the (Australian) team left for Sri Lanka, we discussed the minor technical adjustments but the emphasis was more on how the mentality should be while playing in the sub-continents. Phillip, in particular, had not played in Sri Lanka and Clarke, too, was still shaping as Australian skipper. We stressed on a pre-match preparations and the assessment of an innings," he explained.
Though Clarke's 112 on the concluding day was his highest score of the series, D'Costa singled out the Australian skipper's 60 at Galle as one of his best innings in a long time. "Batsmen always tend to go to sub-continent assuming they are going to score 500 runs. But sometimes even a 30 or a 40 in Sri Lanka is a good score depending on the conditions. Clarke's 60 odd runs on a challenging pitch was a stand out performance," gushed D'Costa, who was the head coach of Vidarbha Cricket Association's Residential Academy.
The Australian was also all praise for Hughes, who hit his maiden century after a span of two and half years. "If you go and look his records in domestic cricket, you would know how good player Hughes is. It was more of a self pressure for him. But the thing with Hughes was that he was trying too hard and in sub continents if you are trying too hard you tend to get hard at the ball. I got down and explained him his flaws and that did the trick for him," he revealed.
D'Costa also felt that Hughes' innings will also help the selectors in blooding him as a future opener. "They (Australia) are looking for a new opening combination and I am sure with this innings, Hughes would inject trust in selectors' mind. Let's hope for the best," D'Costa signed off on a high.