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I lay the blame on the administrators of WI cricket

Nov 30, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
In the Caribbean today, we have a failing Regional Test cricket team. Some fans would like to blame the cricketers who recently bowled Sri Lanka out in both innings for a total of 406 runs in a Test match but still could not win.
Yes, I would give them 25% of the blame for failure to apply themselves and surpass what we all saw as a meager total. However, I would lay 75 % of the blame at the feet of the Administrators of West Indies Cricket. In every aspect of life and living we need to first lay a solid foundation. Where is our foundation?
The facts speak for themselves: The West Indies Cricket Board recently selected and played a left arm seamer who could only bowl one fast spell in a Test match. We had an opening batsman who had never scored a First Class hundred.
Finally, although our team performed poorly in the recent series in Sri Lanka, the Regional Selectors were forced to select the same squad for the December, 2015 tour of Australia. Yet, among the twenty-five man party which include ten officials, they have not named a batting coach or a bowling coach.
It is a crying shame that with our Test team struggling as it has been, we do not have a B team in 2015 from which we could select new players. During the New Zealand tour of the West Indies in 2014, the West Indies Cricket Board chose to have them oppose a Jamaica Select XI twice. In 2015, they had England opposing a St. Kitts Invitational XI twice. No B Team or President XI matches were played against these teams and the B team did not function in 2015.
We have not been producing a Test batsman of class because, as Sir Garfield Sobers rightly said: “The Twenty/20 format has taken a heavy toll on our cricket.”
The art of playing every ball on its merit, remaining at the crease and scoring hundreds has been lost.
The fact that we have been losing so terribly with our matches ending in four days or less should come as no surprise.
Two decades ago teams coming to the Caribbean knew that the pitches in Barbados and Jamaica were lively, Trinidad had a spinner’s wicket after the first day and Bourda in Guyana was a batsman’s paradise. Today, all of the pitches in the region are spinner friendly.
Has this benefitted the West Indies? Definitely not. Three of our best Test spinners have recently been called for throwing.
On the other hand, because of these lifeless pitches, we have not been producing fast bowlers and batsman who can play on lively pitches. The few fast bowlers who do come through are not given extended spells to help them
Jusann Bess

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