This is the eighth article, titled Relationships are paramount in finding solutions.
These 'cricket ministry' articles will take the reader inside the world of cricket including cricket festivals, cricket touring, the early years of cricket chaplaincy and the nature of cricket relationships.
In those years as the Australian Cricket Team chaplain he saw five generations of cricketers come through the Australian cricket team system, in an era after the World Series Cricket and before this new cricket revolution of Twenty/20.
In his era as Chaplain to the Australian XI the Australian Cricket Team captains were Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh. In this role he was interviewed by numerous media outlets including television, radio and newsprint.
This eighth and final article in this Ashes lead-up in this series, M V Tronson discusses how the IPL has discovered how team make-ups from different cultures have established relationships that would have been difficult under any other conditions.
International Cricket has witnessed some nasty lessons and strangely, the IPL (Indian Premier League) has found that 'relationships' with a new angle can be a positive. As Shane Warne recently said when he was captain-coach of an IPL team, with members from five different nationalities, each thinking differently from each other.
Warne saw this as a challenge, but his management style has developed so that he has used the various viewpoints as a positive step to help the players learn from each other, thus improving the relationships within his team, and enhancing the performance and morale of the whole team.
We recall various incidents during the Test matches three seasons ago which involved accusations of 'racism' from cricketers from India, Australia and Sri Lanka, and resulted in some penalties and suspensions.
This was a field day for the press of all cricketing countries, and everyone became concerned, particularly with slurs against a renowned West Indian Umpire, yet the IPL found that creating multi-racial teams altered the nature of this situation.
The rationale behind this was that players could form 'relationships' with each other as colleagues, rather than stereotyping each other as opponents from one culture or another.
Mark Tronson thinks that the IPL has demonstrated that the only way forward is to consider how to manage 'relationships'.
The new Twenty/20 Australian competition will no doubt host the same experiences as has the IPL.
It has been said that cricket is a microcosm of life and perhaps for Australians, the Ashes series is the epitome of this. Certainly many wonderful relationships have been established between players of both countries.
Paying attention to good relationships is a core message of the New Testament and in 'heaven' there will people from every culture, all who have fallen at the foot of the Cross of Christ.
M V Tronson says that generosity and forgiveness are offered by God to everyone as each of us has gone astray. For those wanting a new start in relationships, be it cricket, marriage, family, friendships or work, the message of generosity and forgiveness described in the Bible is worth listening to.