Why the West Indies will continue to be weak
August 19th 2007 01:12
The new West Indian captain Ramnaresh Sarwan recently blasted the former coach of the team, Bennett King, for being too rough. That's very ironic coming from a member of a team that lacks strength, mental toughness, heart and discipline.
I don't blame Sarwan for what he said but King was just another in a long line of poor decisions by the West Indies Cricket Board. King was brought in to fix a problem that doesn't necessarily exist on the field, but in the brain of current West Indian players. If a recent WI "fast" bowler (say a Reon King or a Mervyn Dillon) was thrown the ball to break a batting partnership to dismiss a quality batsman or two (Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, Sachin Tendulkar to name a few) the best either could do is bowl a series of long hops, short balls and deliveries just wide enough outside of off stump to make a mockery of a great tradition of a long line of truly awesome fast bowlers. On the other hand if Andy Roberts, Michael Holding or Malcolm Marshall was given the ball they would get results. The difference is that the current players wait for something to happen instead of making it happen.
One major mistake the WICB made was when they sat on their hands after the English Cricketing authorities decided that they were cutting back on overseas players (ie West Indian players) to make English cricket stronger. In days gone by the majority of West Indian players had played in England and knew the conditions sufficiently enough to know how to win and win convincingly so it was in England's best interest to shut out West Indians from their first class cricket. The West Indies board did very little because they overestimated the strength of West Indian first class cricket and the players in it and soon enough it showed. The least the board should have done is strengthened not only the regional competition but also at the grass root level. Sure they could complain that they didn't have the money to do so I ask why didn't they get help from the regional governments to bolster regional and cricket at the school and local level? They had to wait until Allan Stanford (an American at that) stepped in to pour money into a competiton that may end up rivalling World Series Cricket not only in the revolutionary stakes but also in controversy and the repercussions to boot.
One other thing that is noticeable with the current players is that they seem to have no sense of the history of West Indian cricket and why the former players played as hard as they did. When players the stature of Headley, Sobers, Richards walked onto any field against an opposition (especially England) they lifted a notch and gave everything because it was a matter of pride to beat the old "colonial masters". Sarwan apparently doesn't share that notion. To him playing England is "just another series".
Pride is something that shouldn't have to be taught to any (aspiring) player of any nation. The history of the team and it's achievements should flow through the veins of every player who pulls on the Maroon cap just as much as it flows through the veins of every loyal fan. As long as West Indian players don't know the history of the region in the cricketing world and what it means to the people, and as long as there is no strong regional competition where the players don't learn how to use their cricketing brains, West Indies cricket will forever remain weak.
I don't blame Sarwan for what he said but King was just another in a long line of poor decisions by the West Indies Cricket Board. King was brought in to fix a problem that doesn't necessarily exist on the field, but in the brain of current West Indian players. If a recent WI "fast" bowler (say a Reon King or a Mervyn Dillon) was thrown the ball to break a batting partnership to dismiss a quality batsman or two (Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, Sachin Tendulkar to name a few) the best either could do is bowl a series of long hops, short balls and deliveries just wide enough outside of off stump to make a mockery of a great tradition of a long line of truly awesome fast bowlers. On the other hand if Andy Roberts, Michael Holding or Malcolm Marshall was given the ball they would get results. The difference is that the current players wait for something to happen instead of making it happen.
One major mistake the WICB made was when they sat on their hands after the English Cricketing authorities decided that they were cutting back on overseas players (ie West Indian players) to make English cricket stronger. In days gone by the majority of West Indian players had played in England and knew the conditions sufficiently enough to know how to win and win convincingly so it was in England's best interest to shut out West Indians from their first class cricket. The West Indies board did very little because they overestimated the strength of West Indian first class cricket and the players in it and soon enough it showed. The least the board should have done is strengthened not only the regional competition but also at the grass root level. Sure they could complain that they didn't have the money to do so I ask why didn't they get help from the regional governments to bolster regional and cricket at the school and local level? They had to wait until Allan Stanford (an American at that) stepped in to pour money into a competiton that may end up rivalling World Series Cricket not only in the revolutionary stakes but also in controversy and the repercussions to boot.
One other thing that is noticeable with the current players is that they seem to have no sense of the history of West Indian cricket and why the former players played as hard as they did. When players the stature of Headley, Sobers, Richards walked onto any field against an opposition (especially England) they lifted a notch and gave everything because it was a matter of pride to beat the old "colonial masters". Sarwan apparently doesn't share that notion. To him playing England is "just another series".
Pride is something that shouldn't have to be taught to any (aspiring) player of any nation. The history of the team and it's achievements should flow through the veins of every player who pulls on the Maroon cap just as much as it flows through the veins of every loyal fan. As long as West Indian players don't know the history of the region in the cricketing world and what it means to the people, and as long as there is no strong regional competition where the players don't learn how to use their cricketing brains, West Indies cricket will forever remain weak.
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