Dear Editor,
It is really disappointing that the region that has won all three 2016 championships, the under 19 male 50 over, and both the men and women’s 20 over, considers itself to be in the cricketing doldrums. Neither administrators nor journalists reacted to their entrants in the men’s 20 over competition being described as lacking in brains before the competition, as having characters suited only to 20 over even after they had won the competition, and suitable to demotion to a second tier of Test cricket. In a 50 over triangular series against Australia and South Africa, WI reached the finals, and surrendered easily in a Test series that followed. Notably in one of the games in that series the West Indian batsmen numbers 5 to 8, combined to score about as many runs as have been scored by those numbered batsmen in Test history, and indeed with style and aplomb. A West Indian emerged as the second best all rounder in the series in his first year in Test cricket. The reasons for the poor performances in the Test series were simply a woeful lack of preparation coupled with a long-standing irrational decision to exclude several cricketers from consideration for selection, including some of those involved in a remarkable 20 over match against the same opponent. This followed the Test series in which a West Indian repeated the incredible feat of winning the game with the last ball in defending a 7 run lead.
The good news is that the current CEO of the WICB is due to retire soon, and the President of the BCCI has said he does not see the value of two tier cricket. The latter has given every indication that he is willing to rethink some of the stranger attitudes in cricket administration generally.
One of the more problematic issues in cricket that has an enormous negative impact in the region is the apparent willingness to accept the notion that the shorter forms of the game which attract the largest number of fans and are chiefly responsible for the financial viability of the game should be seen as a lesser form of the sport. It is an attitude with which West Indians cannot persist. What is more WI were a dominant team from1950-2000 in all forms of the game.
Another is the apparent denial or concealment of the use of mental gymnastics in its history. Viv Richards, perhaps the most dominant batsman, spoke at some length in an interview about the help he received from a sports psychologist early in his career, and as we know all the successful teams retain the services of a sports psychologist. Recently a Mr Hoad, who provided some services to the West Indies in the 1999-2000 period made some general observations of his term which suggest he was not well-received because of his European origins. It does seem, however, that even at his mature age he finds employment in sport in Australia.
The administration must find a CEO who can use these recent world championship victories as a springboard for reconciliation between administrators and players and for a new start using all the available resources, including public relations of the most sophisticated kind.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
