“Deryck Lance Murray – Reflective, thoughtful, worried, hopeful”

Nov 07, 2010 Sports

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INTERVIEW –
(PART 2 OF 2)

By Colin E. H. Croft

Colin Croft (CC):  Much cricket; low standards?
Deryck Murray (DLM):  It is not true that more cricket is being played.  Let us examine Trinidad & Tobago.  In the 1960’s, over 250 clubs registered to play.  Queen’s Park and Harvard had four teams, Oxford and Yorkshire had three, playing all levels.  Now, most clubs cannot get two teams, excluding Queen’s Park.
There is no Intermediate “A” division.  More cricket is a mistaken concept.  There is more ‘commercial’ cricket, with fewer people, and a proliferation of wind-ball cricket.
CC:  Australia has club, grade, state, then ODI’s, T-20’s, or Tests.  Mike Hussey had 15,000 first class runs, to play Tests!
DLM:  In the West Indies, if you make 15 runs, you may get in!
CC:  When we played, you advocated contracts from WICB and territorial boards.
DLM:  Those running our cricket do not understand what is required.  Players were under contracts for years.  Contracts are offered – US$120,000; intermediate – US$80,000, or developmental.  What is a player contracted to do?
They play; or not; are paid.  They have no responsibility.  There is no set pattern, allowing players to report on progress; fitness or form.  An injured player has nothing contractual to report to a doctor, or physiotherapist.  If there is no Test or regional cricket, there is no obligation for players to report to local cricket boards or WICB.  There is no provision for practice and to be helped technically.
It is just using money; jobs for the boys.  Coaches, development officers, kiddy cricket project officers, what do they do?
If sensible, they write a few reports to the local board and WICB, which will never be discussed.  We do cosmetic things, hoping that Bravo, Gayle, Sarwan, Nash, Chanderpaul, Pollard, whoever, will do well at that same time to win.  That so-called corner is a round-a-bout!
CC:  WI cricket season 2010/2011 is long; World Cup 2011, tours by India and Pakistan; 6+ months of cricket. Could this be the base for improved efforts, remembering that ICC Future Tours Programmes ends in 2012?
DLM:  We have a programme of cricket for six-months.  We only know what is happening for the next six months.  We have no idea what is happening in 2011-2012.  West Indies is the only cricket playing-country that does not have a cricket season.
We do not know if our regional tournaments will follow the same basis next year.  We do not know when we will hold our T-20 and One-Day tournaments in 2012.  We do not even know if we are going to play our T-20 tournament every year; in January.
In 2011, it will be played in January – I do not agree – but, with ICC’s schedule and Champions League etc., is that set in stone?  Can Pollard and Gayle say:  ‘I know where I am due to be from January to March, 2012’?
Twenty years ago, we knew that.  We knew January – March/April was our cricket season.  You played then to be selected for West Indies.
In 2020, the English County season is April – September, and Australian and South African seasons is October – February.  Why can the West Indies not have a season when we can know when our competitions will be played?
We want to have four-day competitions on a home-and-away basis.  Then we play our T-20, then, in October, play our 50-over competition, if that is the right formula.  We do not know.  We experiment every year with different formulas and schedules.
How can we have a domestic season that includes Canada, Somerset and England “A”?  I do not mind exchanges, outside of regional competitions.  Our domestic competitions must be for the six regional territories, to develop our own cricketers.
If there is a ‘bye’, then one can play against Combined Campuses and Colleges, or Canada, or Somerset.  That would be fine, as our players will relish the activity.
Do not mix the two into one.  Our domestic competitions should be like Australia and New Zealand, and one of our teams would win.
This year, West Indies “A” played some counties and England “A” in England.  Good!  But they were not part of ECB’s County Championship.  I have no problem with that, but let us not confuse; pretend; that we are making progress that way.
CC:  Bravo, Pollard, and Gayle – contracts.  No respect, on both sides or recognition, from WICB?
DLM: West Indies cricket will be poorer if Gayle and Bravo, particularly, to a lesser extent, Pollard, are not available for our competitions and representative games.
It is symptomatic of our problems that it was only after Gayle, Bravo and Pollard decided not to sign, that there were to be discussions between WICB and players on contracts.
What should have happened is that discussions should have taken place three months previously, about the difficulties of the contracts, as is done – I am sick of saying this – everywhere else!
Pollard, Gayle and Bravo play the same cricket as every other international; Doug Bollinger, Rahul Dravid or Mike Hussey.  But, those also always play for their countries, except when injured, or retired, like Sachin and T-20.
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians pay them much more than their countries pay them, but these guys have greater pride in representing their countries than in representing commercial entities.  Their first priority is always playing for their countries.
It is disrespect and no recognition.  You can accuse Gayle, Bravo and Pollard of not respecting our cricket.  You can also say that from the association that represents them, they have fostered a lack of respect for West Indies cricket; forget respect for WICB.
WICB must earn that respect from professionals.  You cannot just say; ‘Gayle, Bravo and Pollard, you must play for West Indies.’  These players have to maximize their earnings.
WICB should have an infrastructure, covering everything, like other Test playing countries, to afford these professionals to do that, and still play for WI, and to be able to maximize their income outside of WI cricket.
WICB does not have to have vision or be innovative to come up with a system; just copy from one of the other countries.  It is not rocket science!
The ICC rankings show where we are – No. 8 out of 9 – Bangladesh is starting to win games, so……not No. 8 for long!
CC:  You and I have been parts of a nucleus that has brought much pleasure, success and pride to many.  We have come to this.  You cannot be pleased.
DLM:  I am not pleased, Crofty.  I am even more disappointed, because I had five years being involved; inside; in administration.  Five years ago, I said that you have to be inside to change the system.
What I have seen inside fills me with great disappointment that the system will ever allow itself to change.  I see no hope for WI cricket in the near future.
A change in philosophy is needed.  If that change will not come from the present personnel running the territorial boards and WICB, then you need a change of personnel.
CC:  There is so much to ponder here.  Thank you very much for your time.

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