On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 1:32 PM, Ibrahim Moiz <ibrahim1137@gmail.com> wrote:
Time to let go
If the West Indies are to reemerge as a world-beating cricket force, one of the first steps should be to stop comparing players to the past, and put the money where the mouth is
Just about anybody with a degree of interest in cricket knows about the coolest team ever to take field. The West Indies’ reign from the 1970s to the mid-90s was one of the most iron-fisted in sport, yet they were a team you couldn’t help but admire. Long before Tupac Shakur or any of his ilk started doling out albums, the Caribbean countries’ combined cricket had firmly reinstated respect of the black man as equal to his fellow human race in non-American parts of the globe without any conscious effort. And they did it throughout athletic fielding, downright vicious fast bowling and strokeplay of thrilling audacity.
Their record needs little repeating; unbeaten in the eighties, winners of the first two World cups, cheerfully lethal tormentors of England in particular as well as most of the cricket world…the list goes on. Few arguments on a batsman’s quality fail to mention Viv Richards’ ability to stamp himself, chewing-gum, bare head and all, on the opposition’s morale. Few captains have had as thorough a stranglehold on opposition as Clive Lloyd. Michael Holding and Andy Roberts sent down bullets like hitmen, while the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Ian Bishop and Joel Garner were as alarming on the field as they were charming off it. The grim-faced Curtly Ambrose, to whom bolting out the opposition came second to basketball, and the gallant Courtney Walsh, to whom a World Cup semifinal came second to fair play, were unplayable at times. Keeper Jeff Dujon performed the hardest task with cool composure, Roger Harper fielded like a panther. Gordon Greenidge belted the ball as effectively as Desmond Haynes caressed it; Keith Arthurton and Richie Richardson rarely missed a chance under those broad-brimmed sunhats. The list goes on and on.
It’s understandable why cricket-lovers, West Indians and others alike, miss them, especially considering the numerous blunders of the new generation. But such is the wave of self-righteousness and, in many cases, pure hypocrisy that comes through in the criticisms of this new generation of West Indian cricketers, that there is little avoiding the fact that West Indies–be it administrators, players, or even long-suffering fans–have to stop living in the past.
Consider the latest accusations, coming from WICB CEO, the aptly named Ernest Hilaire, whose condemnation of his region’s side can come across either as ernest or hilarious. Ernest will be the opinion of most who read it, as he mirrors many viewers by saying that the current crop of players have no “notion of being West Indian.”
“I listened to our players speak, and they speak of money–that’s all that matters to them,” said Ernest, ernestly. “There’s no sense of investing in the future coming from them…Sometimes when you speak to a player, you feel a sense of emptiness.”
In highlighting the importance of a proper infrastructure, he went on to give examples of locals who complained about the state of cricket. “People ask me, ‘What do you do about this team? They are an embarrassment!’ I tell them, ‘You have about three more years of embarrassment still to witness.’”
As an ethics speech by itself, it’s a fine and relevant speech. But what’s hilarious is that the WICB, of which he is CEO, has failed to display any of the morality Hilaire speaks of. Yes, the team are an embarrassment. But whose fault is that? This is coming from the same board that failed to pay its players for the 2008 season–during which, under Chris Gayle, they did display some admirable improvements from the previous years–and then gave a cold shoulder next year when they went on strike demanding nothing more (a lot less, actually) than their professional rights. So much for “investing in the future”; so much for the “structure of support” Hilaire had come to announce.
It’s easy to blame, say, Chris Gayle, who has had a pretty ordinary few months of late, and whose laidback attitude, particularly when discussing Test cricket, tempts accusations of laziness and complacency. But it’s too easy; Gayle, though he often underperforms, has been by far one of the side’s most consistent performers, and the team has taken a forward stride under his leadership. A first overseas Test victory for some years came in 2008, when he took the lead; this was followed by a hard-fought Test draw and one-day victory at home over Sri Lanka, though the touring Australians yanked back the record in another hard-fought encounter. Gayle’s batting overseas, on varying tracks in the UAE and New Zealand, was exemplary; he did well at home against England, did well in Australia in that Test version he’s supposed not to care for, and has only in the last couple of months dropped the ball. Now there are increasingly loud voices not just bemoaning the lacklustre West Indies side, but calling for Gayle’s ouster because he hasn’t performed as well as he might and looks conveniently laidback. What about the rest of the team?
The problem here, unfortunately, has started with the WICB, who for years have shamelessly neglected their professional and moral duty and let West Indies cricket stagnate. And it’s then the cricketers, invariably, who come under fire for not living up to their predecessors’ standards. Yes, they have brain-freezes; yes, they underperform to an often embarrassing level and yes, not all are as professional as they should be. But that’s simply the trend set by their frankly criminal board, currently vying for most inept with the PCB at the moment. The Hilairity in the CEO’s Ernest speech was that it was much, much more applicable to his own board.
