Dear Editor,
It is painful to hear Bangladeshi broadcasters bemoaning the standard of West Indian cricket when their own cricketers are themselves not doing so well; but it is true, nonetheless, that most teams are not that great and therefore competitive against one another.
Windies have a new coach because Mr Law prefers to coach a county rather than a country. That should tell management something. If one stayed up till 3 am on the third day of this first five-day match as I did one would have seen the Windies lose 4 wickets for 11 runs in the 25 minutes they batted before lunch. Such a person would have been certainly convinced that Powell is not “thinking right” and needs some help with his thought processes but he would also likely consider the need for a different approach to their business for most of these youngsters.
It is easy to say, as so many fans tend to, that the fellows are just not up to scratch, but let`s not get too critical. Hetmyer came in
immediately after lunch, and in no time the score had gone past 40. Remember the chase was only 204. Shakib, maybe one of the best allrounders ever, and the wicketkeeper, also an experienced campaigner, had seen Hetty a few times and predicted that he would continue not only hitting out but going airborne, so they made the appropriate adjustments, and took care of him quickly. Brathwaite is in a slump, and Chase does have a tendency to get out without giving any
notice. Hope, obviously, has been told that he has the pedigree to carry the team on his back at this early stage of his career, so is playing under too much pressure. Ambris can bat. Anyone who knows cricket can see it but it he still needs some help to get over his New Zealand mental trauma. I would recommend that the players be subjected to three times as much mental as physical gymnastics going forward. They can`t just will themselves, or pray, to do better.
They need help.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt