Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

West Indian Tears

Monday, April 5 2004

No guts. No pride. No intelligence. Clearly the West Indies cricketers are lacking in many departments. It pains me to see the same thing over and over again. Day in, day out and game after game after series. It's not so much the fact that my team, my love, is being beaten, but rather the way in which they are losing. I don't hesitate to say that the current bunch of cricketers are playing as losers. To this point the West Indies has not been beaten by England in the current series. No, we have lost to them, beaten ourselves - we've handed away 36 years of pride and work without the semblance of a fight.

The West Indies team is going through motions. These motions are all too familiar and the pain in the heart of the supporter is ever-present. The team returns from a dismal tour of South Africa to be knocked over for a record low total, where have we heard this before? Indeed, in 1999 the script began in similar fashion, but on that occasion the team rallied to beat the mighty Australians by ten-wickets in the next Test match.

Too many times have I seen these West Indies players rally to inspired victory after the series is lost. These wins do help to keep the win/loss record at something respectable, but are ultimately empty and merely false warning, tricking us into believing that the morning of joy is just around the corner.

It's a blatant fact that 'the corner' is a very much overused term in these parts. Every year the team is said to have 'turned the corner', and every year we realize that it's just going around in circles. I, myself, am too young to have experienced the glory days of this great cricketing nation. In fact, my first memory of watching an entire Test series is the 1998/99 debacle in South Africa. What a start!

Still, I am an avid reader of cricket history and I've managed to piece together that this regional side was once a force to be reckoned with. It does say something when, despite being beaten into submission by teams all over the world, the opponents still hold some regard for West Indies cricket. We can attribute this to the efforts of Sobers, Richards, Marshall, Holding, the W's and so many more. These players of yesteryear made West Indies cricket a bankable commodity and a true joy to watch.

Now the money just isn't coming and the WICB finds itself practically pleading with the supporters to turn up at the ground. How could one great team find themselves in such a predicament? The only comparison in sports that comes to mind is that to the Chicago Bulls. In both situations the fortunes swung from amazing heights to devastating lows in the blink of an eye - excuse the cliche. However, the Bulls fans still support and still hope.

Some cast the blame on the bowling and they find that they've certainly got a valid argument. In recent times the West Indies bowling attack has truly been a sight to behold. Wayward and flat does not even begin to describe the lack of quality which has at times been broadcast the world over. The rate of turnover of West Indian bowlers is unparalleled by any of the major teams in world cricket.

This cricketing nation was built on wicked pace. At one time there were so many fast-bowling options that the selectors could practically pull from a hat and get something world class on the field. These days the most successful of current West Indian bowlers, Mervyn Dillon, can't get a call.

Alas, there is bowling talent around. Tino Best and Fidel Edwards are the two most prominent right now, but names such as Ravi Rampaul, Dwight Washington, Jermaine Lawson, Jason Bennett, Andrew Richardson, Jerome Taylor have all been floated around as potential bowlers of the future. Half of that list have already represented the senior team in some form of the game, with some measure of success. Clearly talent is not lacking, yet we simply have not been able to find a young Ambrose or Walsh as yet.

True, Ambrose and Walsh entered the frame when there were still well-established greats about and the West Indies team was still at the top, so perhaps it was the short-sightedness of the powers that be that led us into this predicament. Ambrose and Walsh were a deadly duo when they were still about, but had they been separated and set to share the new ball with one of the younger crop, perhaps we would have a leader by now. Young Fidel Edwards came into the West Indies team with but one First Class appearance to his credit, yet by the end of the year he was leading the bowling attack and bowling over upon over against world-class strokeplayers, even in his tired state. How desperate is a team for a hero when they force that load onto a twenty-one year old!

Clearly the bowling is not the only identifiable problem, as the batting has not been tremendously consistent either. Considering that the West Indies batsman recently managed to score eight Test centuries between them in four Test matches in South Africa, mostly in rear-guard actions, you'd expect they would be able to comfortably erase a 28-run first innings deficit on deader wickets and against a significantly less established bowling attack. The number 47 says maybe not. Granted the touring Englishmen have bowled well, but the mode of dismissal of the home side batsmen hints that perhaps the run of low scores is more due to bad batting than good bowling. Onward from that Sabina Park debacle to the Queen's Park Oval, where we witnessed 100 for no loss turn into 208 all out and a seven-wicket defeat on a batting track. At the Kensington Oval 94 was the bingo number. How does a team, which some called the third best batting line-up in the world just a short while ago, 'accomplish' such lows?

Amazingly enough, this is not the worse we've managed to do against our British rivals. In 2000, the touring West Indians somehow conspired to lose to England after leading by 133 runs on first innings. This after the second innings effort was just 54. Applause as the eleven batsmen managed to surpass the then record low of 51, achieved a year and some earlier against Australia. Still not bathed in enough shame, the score read 61 all out just two Tests after, and before the year was done, it happened again - 82 and 124 all out in the same match in Australia. I abstain from mentioning the numerous tumbles in the shorter version which glittered the slope during that period and further demonstrated the deep hole that the West Indies had fallen into.

They say that you can see the stars in the day when you're at the bottom of a very deep hole, and even for the West Indies, there were some who appeared over this period. Slowly the team began to take shape and the fans prophesied, more in hope than anything else, that with some bowlers we'd be a force of reckoning. If only it were so simple. No, the problems lie much deeper than writing eleven names on paper.

On paper the West Indies side ought to match England blow for blow, but things aren't always as they seem. Respected commentator, Tony Cozier has suggested that the players don't practice enough. This may well be the case, and players do only get better by working on their game, but shouldn't we invest that time and money into the potential stars, rather than the stop-gaps and substandard players which I have come to know and tolerate. Basically we need to get the selection right first, then we can talk about net sessions.

For instance, Dwayne Smith is clearly a player of immense talent, but that doesn't appear to have been complemented with a brain. As an individual I'm sure Mr. Smith is fine and intelligent, but as a cricketer he's leagues from the scratch. Just about every time he comes to the crease it's a clinic in how not to manufacture a dismissal. One would expect that he would notice the blatant changes to the field to set him up for various dismissals, or at least see the score and adapt his approach as such. At no level of cricket can a batsman hit every ball for six. Sobers once hit all of an over, but a match is not won in an over. It can, however, be lost in that time. Smith may have a future in Test cricket yet, but not until he learns how to play cricket first.

On debut Smith scored a swashbuckling century on a flat pitch against a tiring South African attack with some rather unusual field placements to contend with. Since that time the vibe is that once he's fit he will play, despite his since snap back to reality and the realization of his deficiencies. Finally the selectors appear to have gotten the memo, but Smith is still in the immediate pool of thought for selection. Unfortunately, there are others who have not been so fortunate. In South Africa the West Indies were crushed in the first two Tests of the four Test series. It appeared as though the selectors finally got it right when they broke the trend of four seamers to include Dave Mohammed in the squad for the third Test. Mohammed took three wickets in that game and was promptly sacked for the next Test. A clearly unfit Corey Collymore was his replacement, and the West Indies conceded over 300 runs for the prize of one wicket on the first day of that game. In the entire series, Edwards took more wickets than any other bowler in the visitors' ranks - eight. Thus, there really is no justification for dropping a bowler who took three in his only appearance. Dave Mohammed has not even been in the immediate squad for any of the Tests since his debut.

What kind of a message is sent to the players here? Is it that you have to score a century on debut or grab five wickets that the selectors remember who you are? Devon Smith scored at an average of just over twenty in eight innings against the World Champion Australians. In that time he got two fifties, two poor umpiring decisions and a pair of ducks, then he was out of the picture for a year. He couldn't even get into the squad to go to South Africa. Instead his unknown namesake got the call. This year Devon Smith managed to force his way back into the side by sheer weight of domestic runs and announced his return with a brilliant 108 of 311 all out.

His return match was also the return of two others - Tino Best and Ryan Hinds. Best debuted against Australia last year, after a tremendous domestic season for Barbados. He bowled with genuine pace, but his waywardness meant that he went wicketless for 99 runs and was promptly sacked from consideration. The name of Tino Best was all but forgotten until he ripped through Caribbean line-ups once again this year to force his way back into the action. He has since taken wickets against England, and more importantly he has looked like taking wickets. Tino Best has played with the passion and desire for success that has been sorely missed for far too long. Special mention of Hinds too, whose 86 was part of a rescue act staged with Devon Smith as he returned from being laid off since late 2001.

Other names come to mind - Ricardo Powell, Dave Bernard Jr., Lincoln Roberts - all tried and dropped after one Test. It may just be me, but it does seem to reflect poorly on the selectors when they pick a player and get a realization that he is substandard after only one Test match. I start to wonder whether they actually watch the cricket at all. Perhaps they pick their teams based on instinct and stats. Both of these do come into the equation, and they have uprooted the odd Edwards, but surely there is more to it. If a player does not look like he can perform against domestic attacks on substandard Caribbean tracks, he is not going to score a century against Pollock and Ntini at Cape Town.

Quite simply it boils down to the passion. Such an interesting word and so relevant of late. A bit earlier I mentioned Tino Best in this regard. I can only think of three other players in the XI that pleasured England in the third Test, who fit the mould as well. Ridley Jacobs has the passion. Fidel Edwards has the passion, and Corey Collymore probably has more than some teams combined. What's that? No Lara? Well, until this series, Lara would have been the first name I'd mention. He took hold of this young West Indian team last year and batted with such responsibility and desire, it was truly a beautiful thing to watch. Now it seems a distant memory and Lara looks but a shadow of that man. True, he's playing with a broken finger and the other batsmen aren't helping him out much, but until his gritty effort in the second innings of the third Test, he has been somewhat above pathetic. Unfortunately the Caribbean people just will not realize that he's only human and is affected by pressure on occasion. Still, it is his ability to cope with such emotion and external factors that make him great. Brian Lara is still, even at 35 years of age, the best player in the team and he is not the problem. Some of his actions may not have helped the problem, but Lara himself is not to blame.

In a recent interview, Trinidad and Tobago cricket coach, Omar Khan spoke highly of a pacer named Theodore Modeste. Modeste has managed to play one or two games per season over the last few years, despite being in the squad on a fairly regular basis. Yet even with such little exposure, Mr. Khan commented that during team sessions, he has been awakened in the early hours of morning to the noise of Modeste bowling against the door of the resident gym. The young man realizes that he can't find a place in his national side but that only drives him to try harder toward his goal. That is commitment, that is desire - that is passion!

A team is made of eleven players and a good team functions with this basic principle central. There are good, however raw and unfinished, players in the region and a wise man puts his money on a team of eleven good players to defeat a mere collection of great players. With that I suggest that the problem is as such - these players simply are not a team. Perhaps it is because of the various backgrounds and cultures which stem from picking a combined islands team, but the fact holds water regardless of the reason. More likely it is the administration (or lack thereof) of West Indian cricket. It is no light matter that these players have been lacking discipline and winning instinct throughout the incredulous excuse for a record which has been added to the books of late. So, despite the losses, should we still support them? Always and forever.

It is a real shame when the Kensington Oval is booming with chants of the Barmy Army rather than the 'riddums' of the Caribbean. I attended the Queen's Park Oval to watch last year's Test between the visiting Australians and the home boys, and I was saddened when I arrived only to see a sea of gold and green. The people don't go to the game anymore. West Indies cricket is fast losing its home-field advantage, and without that we are a few runs short of pathetic.

We as the fans have our hands tied. I have no doubt that some of us could perform the job of the WICB to better effect, but that simply is not our job. Let those selected do their job and we do ours. As fans our job is to support. This is not to say that we mindlessly wave our flag without the exercise of criticism at the appropriate times. Indeed, constructive criticism should always be welcomed. However, it is not the place of anyone to identify a problem or deficiency without an attempt to conceive a solution. As fans our contribution is to support with all our hearts, but not without the guidance of the mind.

Even in this darkest hour, one can take comfort that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Whilst I have just presented a taste of the problems for consideration, rather than pinpointing the means of solution, trust that there is a solution. There is a saying - "The harder the struggle, the sweeter the victory". The best athletes live and die by these words and one thing is certain, no matter what curses come out of the mouth of a West Indian, there will always be a glimmer of support and hope for the boys. For now, we must endure the pain and tears, but with the hope that joy will come.

Posted by Liam