RCB Bold diaries: How exactly does a Team Analyst give an IPL team the edge?

We have all seen laptops having been a constant sight in a dugout over the last decade. Ever wondered how exactly these laptops help, and what does the guy with the laptop do? RCB’s Team Analyst Freddie Wilde threw some light on the subject.

When quizzed about his conversations with the coaches, “I’m always sort of looking where we can improve, where we’ve been doing well, things we can change, things we might want to keep the same, that sort of constant conversation happens between me and the coaches,” revealed Freddie.

What exactly does he do during the game? What’s his role when the action is already happening on the field? “On a basic level, I’m there scoring the game. Just sort of making sure across who sort of has bowled when, how many overs guys have got left. But then there’s also the more analytical side of it, which is looking at potential matchups, which bowler should be bowling to certain players, maybe we want a change in the batting order, and if that occurs, I’ll have a quick chat with Hess (Mike Hesson) or Sanjay (Bangar), or if it’s something to do with bowling lengths or bowling tactics, I might talk to Sri (Sridharan Sriram) or Griff(Adam Griffith), and that will be communicated to the players at the timeout when the coaches head out there. There are sort of two elements to it - the basics, and then there’s the more analytical stuff and trying to actually find tactical edges that we can pass out to the players,“ he summarized.

Do the players keenly open up to suggestions made by looking at data or do they prefer relying on their instincts? “I think it all depends on the individual,” said Freddie. “Certain players are really keen for information. For example, someone like Harshal comes to me asks quite a lot of questions, he’s trying to find out some of the more detailed things with certain venues, certain batters. Other players might want slightly less information,” he added.

So, how does the message get communicated to the players who might not be as keen? “And that’s where quite often I might communicate it to Griff, and Griff then has his one-on-ones with the bowlers and help pass them on,” said the analyst. “Every player is different and quite often we deal with players on a one-on-one basis, rather than sitting everyone down in a meeting room, and just telling them ‘This is the length to bowl’. Everyone learns differently, think of language barriers as well - not everyone’s fluent in English. So you have to try and adapt to that and actually pass the message across in a way that sticks with the player. Also particularly because the simpler the message the better. It might just be one thing, might just be one particular thing, I spend hours there looking at bowling plans, coming up with different options, but on the day it might just boil down to one piece of information, and it’s about making sure that that is communicated to the player as quickly as possible,” he further explained.