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Cricket madness
Dear Editor,
As I watch the women’s world cup cricket in Sri Lanka and look at the team standings, it is obvious that a certain team previously known for their world class cricket is missing– the West Indies. When the West Indies narrowly beats a team like Thailand, you know there’s a problem. Not forgetting the current performance of their counterparts in the India test matches. I don’t need to be a prophet to predict who will win the second test match in India.
When I was growing up in Guyana, the question was asked at times “Why can’t Guyana have their own international cricket team?” After all, Guyana had produced some of the top-tiered players in the world back then. We were given the answer that “since Guyana is a small country population-wise like the other West Indies nations, the pool talent would be greater collectively”. Perhaps there is some merit to it.
However, when you look at world class cricket, some of the most dominant teams have less of a population size than their competitors. This also applies to soccer (football). So, what is it? I personally believe that though the population size can contribute to the pool talent, the main factor has to do with identifying, developing and nurturing talent from a young age. This means investing in training, better cricket facilities and coaching. One of India’s great cricket coaches was not Indian. He instilled a new level of confidence in India cricket.
A good cricket player does not necessarily make a good coach. A good coach in any sport needs to have an in-depth understanding of the game and the ability to teach. One needs to be able to teach the technical aspects of the game and to predict the movement of the game– what’s around the corner. Thus, coaching accordingly. A coach needs to be involved in continuous learning. For starters, we need world class coaches to develop world class players.
The West Indies cricket team is selected by the head coach and data-driven performance. India’s cricket team is selected by a five-member board based on not only on performance, but team balance and form. But it starts with excellent scouting at the junior levels. There is a saying “It is madness to keep doing the same thing and to expect different results”. This summarizes West Indies cricket.
Best regards,
Daniel Singh
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