CLT20: Simon Katich, and his hatred of losing

One of the most used cricket cliches, after 'the right areas' and 'one match at a time', is 'We are up for the challenge'. Everyone says it, but there are certain cricketers who seem to embody that phrase more than others - by their acts, their runs and wickets, and their body language on the field.

Simon Katich is one of those who instinctively radiates 'up for a challenge' whenever he steps on to the ground. If you were in a scrap, you'd want Katich on your side.

The Perth Scorchers were in a tough spot during the Champions League Twenty20 2012 in South Africa, the foundations and values of the side under a cloud after disciplinary breaches in the middle of the tournament. The fallout consumed Marcus North and Lachlan Stevens, then the captain and coach respectively. And Perth turned to Katich to take charge in the aftermath.

In his words, the side was "probably at rock bottom after what happened in South Africa in the Champions League".

Katich's innate toughness and competitiveness lend him an almost ominous air on the field, as someone you'd be better off not crossing. Ask him about his flinty-eyed look, and Katich laughs disarmingly. "I probably look intense on the field just because I'm a competitor and I love winning," he tells Wisden India. "I hate losing, so I guess that's just natural competitiveness coming out in the field. I love the contest too, that's probably been one of my strengths as a player. But off the field, I'm pretty laidback and relaxed. I don't tend to let things worry me too much."

Katich could have easily played more than 56 Tests had he been born a decade later. The current Australian top order has struggled more often than not, and Katich's grit and consistency would have been invaluable. Steve Waugh, with whom Katich shared a match-saving stand in Waugh's final Test against India in 2004, wrote that he saw in Katich "a guy tailor-made to fill my role" in the Australian side.

Currently leading Perth in the CLT20 in India, Katich has traversed some distance since then. His side came into the tournament hampered by the loss of a long list of first-choice players, and have looked among the weaker outfits. But Katich, at 38 the elder statesman now, has emphasised repeatedly that this CLT20 is all about gaining experience and building a foundation for the future of Western Australia cricket.

"I've enjoyed working with the boys and coming back into the squad," says Katich. "Yes, it's been disappointing that we haven't won any games, but at the same time, I do know what it's like to have to struggle to find your feet at the level above, having been through that myself early in my career. That's part of cricket. Unfortunately, you don't just walk out at the higher level and just turn it on right from the word go. There's only a few players who have been able to do that in the history of the game."

His struggles at finding his feet have followed him into the Twenty20 arena as well, where his reputation as a Test batsman has often impacted how people view him in the shortest format.

"There's no doubt the perception would be that I'm not a Twenty20 player, and that's fair enough because I'm not a big hitter of the ball," he admits candidly. "But in the past 12 months, I feel like I've started to understand what helps me become more consistent. I've tried to be more aggressive as well, and have a bit of fun with it. And that's probably helped me score at a reasonable rate and play in teams that have had some success."

Katich's batting philosophy is built around breaking things down and eliminating errors. "For me, it's always been about trying to minimise your mistakes. To make runs, you've obviously got to bat for long periods of time and stay in the middle. I break it down as simply as possible, ball by ball."

That sounds like he's talking about Test matches, and when asked if the same holds true for Twenty20 cricket, Katich's response is quick. "Definitely in Twenty20 there has to be a change in mindset. But it's not about trying to hit fours and sixes, you know. It's about being able to get off strike as much as possible, look out for twos, run hard and work it out that way. Not all of us can hit sixes every ball. If you don't have too many dot balls, you can still score at a decent rate." A healthy strike-rate of 126.67 in over 100 T20 matches bears testament to the efficacy of Katich's method.

And it isn't as if T20 success has come at the expense of long-form cricket either. Katich came into this year's CLT20 on the back of a stupendous season for Lancashire in Division Two of county cricket, with 1097 runs at 73.13.

In the CLT20, his side hasn't enjoyed great success, but in many ways qualifying to be part of the tournament is success in itself, and Perth have done it now for the second year in a row. This season, they did it after picking themselves up from adversity, Katich steering the way as captain and batsman.

In Justin Langer, who was appointed the head coach, Katich has an ally who is similar in many ways, cut from the same cloth of old-school cricketing values.

He's done it for Australia, he's done it for a variety of counties in England, he's done it for different states, and in the twilight of a distinguished career, Katich will try to be the bulwark his Twenty20 team needs. Whether it's possible or not is open to debate, but it goes without saying that if there's a challenge, Katich will be up for it.