An excuse seeks to justify a violation or omission in relation to a matter. If one does not behave fairly, honestly or with a certain element of discipline, then one’s conduct is not simply cricket.
Over the decades, excuses have been made about the performance of the West Indies cricket team, regardless of the format of the game, be it Test, One Day, regional or, more recently, Twenty20 or T20, and the Caribbean Premier League, CPL. No doubt, cricket means financial resources, but where is the pride of performance?
There have been so many coaches of various aspects of the game, physios and managers, that it is fascinating to see the rather pathetic display of the West Indies team, which stands out more for inconsistency than for victory. Cricket is one of the things that unites West Indians, especially within the Caribbean, but this observation has clearly escaped the West Indies Cricket Board, which seems unable to avoid the brush of nepotism. A few years ago, the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board wanted to break away and form its own international team.
Why are there managers who seem incapable of managing the various aspects of the game, be it batting, fielding, catching or bowling? Although inconsistent, players have the ability to play much better than they have for decades. Unfortunately, such occurrences are as rare as a “blue moon”. Indiscipline seems the order of the day where lessons are completely unknown, to say the least.
There seem to be no coaches for any form or aspect of the game and it’s a shame to keep blaming the players who clearly don’t understand what cricket means to West Indies or even the game of cricket. In most cases, batting, bowling, fielding, catching and the understanding and appreciation of the opposition is completely unknown to the team.
It boggles the mind that people are in positions in name only because there doesn’t seem to be any competence other than blaming players who are out of their depth in the team.
It is instructive that the people who coached the junior teams to such a level of success seem to believe they can use the same techniques to coach the West Indies team, which is heavily beset by nepotism, favouritism, unclear understanding of the game and very doubtful ability for him. perform. The West Indies cricket team’s inability to perform is a clear sign that the coaches lack the relevant competence to make a difference.
An insult to the injury is the lack of experienced players available who were not considered. It is unbelievable that the current West Indies T20 captain, a seemingly dismal non-performer in all areas of cricket since the Indian Premier League earlier this year, can even be considered a performer, let alone a captain who has countless errors in the field!
Along with the non-performance is his statement that the team does not need any “name players”. Is it any wonder that the West Indies T20 cricket team came last and the first time they failed to qualify for the Super 12 in the International Cricket Council T20 competition, in its history?
Why can’t greater discipline be enforced on the players? After three occasions, maximum, a player without performance must leave the team until his performance increases to the required level. Taking a page from English football, problem players, regardless of their ability, are benched until their performances meet the required criteria. Not in West Indies cricket, where clearly unfit and underperforming players are given chances on occasion – the refrain was “he’s going through a rough patch”.
Top cricket teams drop their once performing players for few matches if they don’t perform. In the West Indies, it seems this concept of performance is completely lost on the West Indies Cricket Board – which should be disbanded immediately and others given a chance to lead.
There are many avenues for these underperforming players to raise their performances to the required standard that the format of the game demands without leaving them in the team to find form. There are plenty of players waiting on the field to be picked, but holding on to under-performing players is hindering their inclusion.
Offering lame excuses for consistently losing a series is definitely not cricket. It is beyond curious to have a team whose strength seems to be losing. They seem unable to win games against teams that have recently emerged. You just have to see the discipline that exists in these teams.
The West Indies have enough players in the various Caribbean islands to ensure that underperforming players leave the team until their performance improves. Furthermore, the arrogant and self-serving reasoning that seems to exist regarding players having different views from the West Indies cricket board needs to stop. Is nepotism and sub-par selection of players forced on the cricket board because of the financial contribution of that particular country to the board’s coffers?
The West Indies Cricket Board must decide what is most important to them and to the islands and people of the Caribbean. Does he stay in power; reaping the benefits of being a director, manager, coach; or realizing the immense value of the cricket team in representing the Caribbean as an entity that supersedes narrow political interests?
The West Indies Cricket Board and all coaches, including the head coach, should resign immediately, call elections for a new board that does not include any of the existing members, and read the riot act to the non-performing players. With little of this, West Indies T20 cricket should burn down never to be revived!
Harjoon Heeralal
Karapichaima
