Dear Editor,
When I wrote my recent note about the need to change the approach to coaching in cricket by having coaches more proactive during games, I did not know that Simmons had been fired. I am sorry that Simmons is no longer the coach of the West Indies team because I thought he was the type of thoughtful person who could adapt to a change in philosophy rather easily.
Only Donald Trump (at least on TV) seems to enjoy firing employees like our WICB. If we reflect just a little we will recall that Simmons was suspended immediately before the recent Sri Lankan tour for an offence for which he could have been reprimanded or fined. The board chose suspension, and retained the services of a man who had competed earlier for the job with Simmons and had been a selector at the time of Simmons`s suspension, as if the notion of conflict of interest was some foreign heresy. I said then and repeat here that the WICB does not see any real value in coaching. Before Simmons they had hired Gibson because he was believed to be a disciplinarian who could solve the disciplinary issues they thought were the main reasons for the problems in West Indies cricket. We, no doubt, remember they were willing to send a team to the World Cup in 2015 with no head coach and an inexperienced captain. We should note how quickly they have handed the coaching job to Garner, who has no coaching experience and has repeatedly diagnosed the sickness in West Indies cricket as one of laziness.
With due respect, cricket, although stressful at the highest level, is not hard labour, and there are no lazy cricketers. It is great fun to play any sport, especially if you are good at it. West Indies cricket needs strategic thinking, and much more careful preparation for international encounters. Such preparation must recognize the fundamental importance of the mental element of the game that is a prerequisite for developing confidence and consistency. WI cricket needs a lot of coaching and a lot of mental gymnastics, as they are a team of men with fragile psyches in a world in which everyone has the greatest motivation for revenge for past humiliations and the wherewithal to inflict it. The leaders of WI cricket must get with the programme, as the youngsters say, or leave the scene. Firing coaches is neither a plan nor a strategy.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
