COMMENTARY
The way forward for West Indies cricket
by Philip Hackett
Philip Hackett
Monday, April 5, 2004
Is the England cricket team that good or is
West Indies so poor?
Prior to the start of this series England
was ranked fourth in the ICC Test Championship standings, behind Australia,
South Africa and Pakistan. According to the ICC rating system this victory
over the West Indies should now push them into third place. The true character
of the England Test side can better be assessed against the more competitive
countries. West Indies struggled against Zimbabwe last year and Bangladesh
will visit in a few weeks understandably optimistic about winning their first
Test match ever.
Whatever the answer to the question posed
earlier, congratulations are in order for Michael Vaughan and his team for
soundly whipping the Caribbean boys in their own backyard to secure the series
3-0 with a match to spare. It’s the first time England has beaten the West
Indies in a series in the Caribbean since 1968. Of equal significance is the
fact that they did in it style. It seems only reasonable they should now go on
to complete a whitewash and establish another record by becoming the first
team to win every Test against the Windies in a home series. It is hard to
imagine anything preventing this other than the recent ability of our players
to perform when almost all is already lost.
Such was the case against Australia last
year in the Test and one day series. The pattern continued to a lesser extent
in South Africa when they eked out a draw with the home side having already
retained the Sir Viv Richards Trophy.
With West Indies going into the Third Test
in Bridgetown looking to win and set up the possibility of squaring the series
in Antigua and preserving the 36 year old record against England, the captain
Brian Lara, who had been anonymous in the previous matches, finally turned up
to ready to play. Unfortunately, he forgot to bring his team-mates or more to
the point, his batting mates. I can find no fault with the bowlers in the
third Test match. Fidel Edwards who probably risked his long term future by
returning so quickly after injury, Tino Best, Pedro Collins and Corey
Collymore never put a foot wrong. They bowled brilliantly even if the manner
in which they were used by their captain appeared at times baffling. I am
still perplexed at the fact that Best bowled just one over at number 11
batsman Steve Harmison and was removed from the attack just one over after
dismissing the stubborn Simon Jones.
Despite the fact that Collins is the first
choice, along with Edwards, for the use of the new ball, Best was in the midst
of a successful spell and should have been allowed to continue as he was the
more likely of the two to intimidate the last man Harmison. The situation
became even more puzzling when Collymore and Collins, the slowest of the
bowlers, were in the attack at the same time during England’s crucial last
wicket stand. Harmison must have been smiling at his luck. Collins eventually
bowled him but by then the damage had been done.
Nevertheless, the least concern now in West
Indies cricket relates to the pace attack. With Jermaine Lawson now fit and
bowling legally and others such as Andrew Richardson, Dwight Washington, Jason
Bennett and Fernix Thomas waiting in the wings, we clearly have talent to work
with. When the English found themselves in a similar position they looked for
suitable expertise to develop it. They discovered Troy Cooley, an Australian
who never played Test cricket, but has developed a reputation as one of the
most respected coaches in his home country. Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, James
Anderson and James Kirtley are among the English bowlers whose careers he has
been instrumental in developing. England imported Cooley and the former
Australian keeper Rod Marsh to set up their cricket academy and even made
Marsh a selector.
These are days of professional cricket, a
reality that seems somewhat loss on the WICB. They continue to use coaching
positions as a reward for dedicated service for past players. Maybe the time
has finally come for a foreign coach to be hired. Hopefully the next attempt
to appoint one will be handled professionally unlike the last fiasco with the
Australian Bennett King.
It is unlikely our cricket, particularly out
batting, will improve until we have a fully professional league in the
Caribbean where our players can learn the game thoroughly before being exposed
to Test cricket. It is pointless working towards retainer contracts when there
is nothing for players to do after the short regional season ends.
The problems seen on the cricket field
cannot be solved there only. The issues must first be addressed in the board
room of the WICB. They recently made a positive step by naming Tony Howard as
manager to replace Ricky Skeritt who resigned. There will be several calls,
probably justified, for the firing of Lara as captain and for Coach Gus Logie
to step down. These moves may be necessary and even inevitable but those
strategies alone will not return West Indies cricket to the glory days. Until
we can restructure the psyche of our leaders and our society West Indies
cricket is likely to retain its mediocrity.
Philip Hackett is a freelance sports journalist who has covered international cricket matches for the Nation Newspaper in Barbados as well as the CMC (formerly CANA). Hackett is also a well-respected cricket radio commentator who has covered Test matches for the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation as well as numerous regional first class matches. He has also provided print media and electronic media coverage of table tennis throughout the region. Hackett is a physical education teacher and has worked in Bermuda, Barbados and now the Cayman Islands. He is a qualified international table tennis coach, having received his training in Hungary and a Level one cricket coach. Hackett holds a Masters degree in education from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
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