There is perhaps nothing more palpably pathetic than listening to West Indian captains trying to speak positively after unending defeats. But if one really wanted to find ineffectiveness dressed in finery, one need not look any further than the present Cricket West Indies (CWI) administration.
Much has been written about the state of affairs of West Indies cricket on the field. But hard as it might seem, regional cricket is neither hopeless nor is it broken. However, remove CWI’s cosmetics and the fault lines within are widening with every platitude and excuse that emanate from the organization’s hierarchy.
But let’s give our cricket situation some context. Similar to our politics and much of our social interactions in the Caribbean, everything appears to be mired in a form of “old-boys club” philosophy. And when one does not play ball with the “boys” one can expect backlash even from regional prime ministers. It might be lost on many but West Indies cricket has regressed under the presidency of Ricky Skerritt. One would not believe this though, especially with the silence from erstwhile noisemakers such as the likes of prime ministers Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Dr Keith Mitchell who have somehow lately become afflicted with acute laryngitis.
In sports, like most endeavours, discipline, consistency, accountability, performance and commitment are paramount. One must question whether the present administration and many of the cricketers who have been resurrected by CWI have ticked all or any of those boxes.
Former West Indies opener Philo Wallace hit the proverbial nail on the head when he recently accused CWI of basically ceding control of West Indies cricket to the players. Skerritt from the outset, has appeared to move away from an environment of discipline and accountability which former president Dave Cameron had attempted to instill in West Indies cricket on and off the field, to one where in an effort to ingratiate himself with the players, his administration has not held its ground on player commitment, discipline, performance and general standards. Indeed, CWI has become so numbed by failure that it now seemingly embraces it with the occasional platitude. Back in 2002 with the lack of commitment and rising failure that are now attached to the regional side being evident then, as well as several question marks over Brian Lara’s captaincy, CWI president Pat Rosseau sacked then manager Skerritt. This followed a series of failures against England, Australia and South Africa. But the weak-kneed board reinstated Skerritt and Rosseau and his deputy Clarvis Joseph resigned. Rosseau made it clear then that their decisions were made after “evaluating team performance”.
Team performance and accountability were high on the agenda of former president Cameron as well. No one it seems took notice that he tried to make players commit to West Indies cricket and rewarded them for doing so, including those outside of the international set-up. No one seemed to notice that the West Indies team won three global championships under his watch, even though there were still a lot of work to be done with the regional game. But it was trending in the right direction. Instead, territorial boards and a few prime ministers became preoccupied with Cameron’s style and his alleged arrogance. He seemingly snubbed the ‘old-boys club’. That was his sin and he was dumped by the territorial boards after a successfully orchestrated public relations campaign. The likes of Dwayne Bravo and crew who were on the ill-fated 2014 tour of India that threatened subsequently to pauperise West Indies finances further, not surprisingly found their way back into the firmament under Skerritt. An investigation one day might reveal more than what was told on the surface, both in India and in the corridors of some regional boardrooms. India were not particulary enamoured of Cameron. After all, the business-like Jamaican had challenged the International Cricket Council’s status quo, particularly the finance model that favoured India and disadvantaged blocs like the West Indies. One might never know what played out among the regional boards and India, especially with the massive forgiveness of debt by India, post-2014, and any conditions which might have been attached.
But as Wallace suggested, administrative control of regional cricket has slackened. It is a lack of firmness with the players that has contributed to the likes of Darren Bravo now being a pitiful memory of what could have been. He was called out by Cameron for his inconsistency, denied an A grade retainer contract which he did not merit at the time, and rather than attempt to raise his game, he took the road of petulance. Bravo started his career around the same time as India’s Virat Kohli, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, England’s Joe Root and Australia’s Steve Smith. But while they have all progressed, average in the 50s in Test cricket, Bravo wallows in the mediocrity of a batting average of 36. A victim of a CWI environment where high performance is a mere sweet-sounding term that can be conveniently side-stepped.
It is not happenstance that the likes of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell have noticeably better stats for their various franchises, especially the Indian Premier League, than they have for the West Indies. Their longevity for these franchises rests on performance. For the West Indies, where the cliques are well entrenched, poor performances do not often result in removal of certain players. Russell has become the poster child for failing and pulling up lame while in West Indies colours, but subsequently turning up for one franchise or the other across the globe. But if CWI continuously drops the ball on enforcing commitment and performance, why blame the players for milking this errant administrative system as much as they possibly can.
The West Indies team failure at the recent Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates can be linked to off-field administrative ineptitude. In a tournament that athleticism and fitness can be as important as batting and bowling form, exemptions were given to oldsters Chris Gayle and Ravi Rampaul. Attitude and discipline went through the window with Gayle’s obnoxious riposte to legendary fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose’s 100 per cent accurate assessment of the 42-year-old Jamaican’s participation in the team. Where was the rebuke from CWI? Where was the apology from Gayle. . . a repetition of a similar 2020 rant directed at Ramnaresh Sarwan during the Caribbean Premier League? Instead, we were made to take chief executive officer Johnny Grave’s word that he had a “quiet word” with him about the Sir Curtly incident. What is not a “quiet word” is the announcement by Grave of basically a benefit game for Gayle in Jamaica against Ireland. It is ironic that an individual such as Shivnarine Chanderpaul who dedicated his life to West Indies cricket – not franchise tournaments – was never afforded such a courtesy, but Gayle who turned his back on both regional four-day cricket as well as Test cricket in 2014, while pursuing lucrative Twenty20 contracts here, there and everywhere, is being gifted a “retirement” game. This is the environment being nurtured by the present CWI administration. Of course, the players must be allowed to make millions while the sun shines, but they can’t have their franchise cake and eat West Indies leftovers too. One can recall Gayle turning up two days before the May, 2009, Lord’s Test because the IPL tournament in South Africa was perhaps more important. West Indies were mauled in the series.
Again, in keeping with the acceptance of mediocrity, following the West Indies’ failures in the World Cup, CWI indicated they would be retaining Pollard whose great captaincy acumen is as much a myth as Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster (just ask Hayden Walsh Jr. whose cricket continues to suffer under his leadership), as well as the selection panel of Roger Harper. Skerritt said there would be no knee-jerk reaction to our pathetic performances. Perhaps, one can also interpret that as any attempt to right wrongs in our cricket, or to cultivate a culture of accountability and professionalism in the present environment, equates to knee-jerk reactions. God help us!
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted cricket across the globe. This has led to the cancellation of four-day cricket in the Caribbean since last year. However, first-class cricket has resumed in countries such as Pakistan and India, among others, but to date, CWI has not restarted the regional first-class game. Yet, we are sending the West Indies team to play Test cricket without proper, lengthy four-day game preparation and expecting different results to what has transpired in Sri Lanka and what took place against South Africa in the Caribbean in June. These are areas where CWI must concentrate its efforts rather than the hierarchy of the organization playing personality politics with the game.
West Indies cricket captains on the field have become adroit at finding positives and stretching euphemisms at post-defeat media chats. West Indies leadership off the field has turned cricketing rhetoric that cushions its shortcomings, into high science. The latter is easier fixed than the former but on-field travails are likely to worsen if the present status quo remains reluctant to enforce the standards and commitment that it ought to and must.
Read our ePaper. Fast. Factual. Free.
Sign up and stay up to date with Barbados’ FREE latest news.
Source link
