Call me ‘old school’ or maybe even ‘naïve’, but the strident comments directed at the West Indies Selection panel including legends Clive Lloyd and Courtney Walsh by senior player and former Windies captain Chris Gayle regarding the non-selection of ‘world beaters’ Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard who boast an ODI batting average of 25.36 from 164 matches and 25.20 from 91 matches respectively, to represent the West Indies at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month, reeks of pure arrogance and a lack of respect for the institution of West Indies cricket in general, manifests a poor example to aspiring young regional cricketers, and unbridled disdain for the two aforementioned icons who have been entrusted with the responsibility of restoring West Indies cricket to its former glory at least for the short term.
And though the vituperative comments of the top world T20 batting star has commanded international cricket headlines, it all seemed like déjà vu all over again with West Indies cricketers airing their dirty laundry in public and attracting unwanted attention to what appears to be the continuation of a poorly scripted made for TV reality show – Cricket in the Caribbean.
As Gayle unleashed his tirade, one could not help but recall when Lloyd himself felt the pain of rejection when he was not selected for the West Indies 1966 tour of England after he had scored a blistering 194 for Guyana, against Jamaica at Sabina Park, which came after his epic 107 at Kensington Oval, against a Barbados attack that included Garry Sobers and Charlie Griffith. Could you even countenance the image of this sorely disappointed talent openly berating the selection panel that left him out of that touring party that would leave the Caribbean shores for England?
Surely that would not have been the advised course of action for this young aspiring batsman with unquestionable credentials, hoping to make it in the big leagues. The lanky Guyanese however, upon his return home was simply reduced to tears, which he later alchemized into adrenalin that fueled one of the finest careers in West Indies cricket history.
A mild comment on the omission of Bravo and Pollard by Gayle would have been understandable but the withering attack unleashed on Lloyd and the selection panel as the cameras rolled, in my view was excessive and though it appeared to be a command performance for worldwide media including leading Caribbean cricket journalists, it served no purpose than to degrade West Indies cricket which has sunk to a nadir, and disrespect long suffering but proud West Indies cricket fans who since the 1990’s have yearned for that elusive culture of success – that winning attitude that characterized the regional team during the Lloyd era when victory was a foregone conclusion. Those days are long gone and for over two decades now fans of West Indies cricket have been at best treated to a steady diet of nothing better than highly rewarded mediocrity, at times worse. As the chief selector Lloyd said in a recent interview, “Let people understand that we have been at the bottom rung of the ladder for the last eight years or more with the same players, recycling people all the time.” And in a somewhat conscientious tone he said. “The point is that now we tried to see if we can change things.”
It is a truism, that given the same set of circumstances in any situation it is foolhardy to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.
And so apparently the selection panel entrusted with the unenviable task of effecting long overdue change in the fortunes of West Indies cricket, genuinely adopted the bold initiative of omitting two high profile players, who have not exactly thrown up stellar individual credentials or contributed consistently to any considerable success in the elevation of the regional team in the various formats. But in cricket not unlike any other sport, times have changed drastically with the influx of major corporate sponsorships and wall to wall multi-media coverage of international sporting events on a jam-packed calendar from January to December the world over from India to Indianapolis and from the United States to the United Arab Emirates, gifted athletes are offered millions of dollars for their services. And as they are rewarded and nestled into their comfort zone with such largesse, some players are empowered to speak up and speak out; some even become vocal and disruptive. It is worthy of note that despite their considerable wealth, world famous billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are famously humble philanthropists more than anything-else.
Clive Lloyd is justifiably ‘disappointed at the comments of his outspoken opener Chris Gayle, and on the political front undoubtedly those of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, but despite the rancor, he none-the-less would hope that as the 2015 ICC World Cup draws ever closer, in his revamped team with rookie Jason Holder at the helm, morale trumps mayhem and the West Indies acquit themselves in the tournament with a measure of respect.
