SPORTS
Newsday reporter
NICHOLAS POORAN, West Indies’ white-ball cricket captain, must have realized by now that being an international captain is not the same as playing franchise club cricket.
It’s disappointing to hear his words after losing a game.
To give an example: in the third T20 played in St Kitts, WI lost to India by seven wickets. Pooran said after the match: “I felt like we needed to get early wickets and we didn’t get early wickets. I felt we should have dragged him down early in the powerplay but unfortunately, we couldn’t get that wicket.
“At (the halfway stage of the game) we felt we had enough. India played well… they used the pitch very well. The wicket was a bit on the slower side and we thought it would be difficult to keep scoring on it.
“Again, if we had got early wickets, it would have been a different game.”
Cricket is not a game of wishes! Pooran’s feelings that if they get an early wicket, or drag it out early in the powerplay, it’s stardom – that’s not cricket. When he talks about taking early wickets, it would have been a different game – of course! Both teams are trying to win and need to create their advantages.
“Unfortunately, we could not get that port” – this is what needs to be addressed,
Why can’t get that port? Not “Unfortunately…” That’s like saying, “You know, if we score more runs than them, we’ll win.”
International cricket is a fierce competition between two teams, both trying to get the upper hand using strategies and tactics to be executed by the batsmen, bowlers and sportsmen, created by the wisdom of the team captain, who has to motivate and inspire his team for him. perform their functions to the best of their ability.
Certainly not by guessing, hoping and wishing for things to go right, but by making it happen through cricket intelligence – which is promoted by spending long hours in the nets, practicing the art forms, until they are satisfied that batting technique is sound, bowlers can place the ball repeatedly in the same area they choose, plus, batsmen can sense the direction of the ball early enough to move into position to catch or drive a run, sharpening so their reflexes for the milliseconds needed to do these things.
That should be the cricketer’s point of view and no one should tell him to do it but he should do it of his own free will.
However, having coaches who are aware of the advantage gained from this approach would benefit the player, and therefore his team.
It is worth noting that the training structure of the WI whiteball team remains unchanged despite the numerous losses in the series. And to think there is a T20 World Cup in late 2022 and ODI World Cup in early 2023!
However, Cricket West Indies seem happy with their coaches and the preparation of their teams.
The cricket team (and I suppose most other sports teams) have a coaching and management structure to ensure that the objectives, of good performances and winning matches, are achieved.
So I have to ask, if the team is constantly losing, on bad and good wickets, then aren’t those who coach the team responsible?
The players are the ones on the pitch representing their country and many people say they are the ones to take the blame. However, there is a great support staff that is supposed to fuel these players with the will to win, infusing their thought processes with enthusiasm and confidence so that the players can’t wait to get on the field and face off. with “the enemy”. .” The captain in the field thus leads his troops.
If this does not work as it should, then changes must be made. The ax must fall on failures.
It seems the WI cricket administration has surrendered to whatever the team management instructs them to do is wise. They must understand that failure means staff changes.
Currently, I think there is a friendly system with the white ball teams. This becomes evident especially when you hear statements about “building a team”, “uniting”, “creating a family”.
I stress, this is international cricket!
I don’t hear this nonsense from Kraigg Brathwaite, the Test captain. And they seem to be doing very well in tougher and more demanding cricket.
