In the last 20 years, West Indies cricket has been trapped in a failure spiral in Test and ODI cricket. This is in spite of multiple changes in regional boards, WICB/CWI presidents and board members, CEOs, cricket committees, selectors, head coaches, specialist coaches, players and support staff.
Psychological rebirth and the creation of a new growth curve have been elusive.
So too have been the revamping of stakeholders’ thoughts, attitudes, values and intent.
Urgent structural reform of West Indies cricket is needed but some of the regional boards seem reluctant to accept change.
So far, they have rejected recommendations for governance reform in the Patterson, Lucky, Wilkin and WICB/CARICOM reports.
Odds are that the just-concluded Wehby governance report will also be rejected, even though its acceptance and implementation can jumpstart the revival of West Indies cricket and direct it to a new growth path.
One wonders if CWI and the regional cricket boards share a common vision, purpose and philosophy.
One also wonders if troublesome forces like insularity, self-interest, and misuse of power are undermining teamwork and organizational progress.
When I think about the regional boards’ attitude towards structural reform, my imagination becomes active.
I often create a scenario of CWI and the regional boards standing together on one side of a high wall. In the picture, CWI is facing the wall and is itching to see if there is anything on the other side that could change the fortunes of West Indies cricket.
That curiosity is missing in regional board members who are standing with their backs to the wall looking inwards.
Their main interest seems to be the preservation of the status quo.
The West Indies board has borne most of the blame for the poor performance of its teams.
But are the critics focusing their anger and discontent too narrowly?
Shouldn’t they direct some of that criticism to regional boards?
In a previous article I quoted an African saying: “When a man falls, look at where he slips, not where he falls.”
Our cricketers are falling down at the senior levels, but they are slipping much earlier, in the junior developmental programmes.
Two decades ago, a coach at the Shell Cricket Academy complained that regional boards were sending ‘pine’ to the Academy and were expecting to get ‘mahogany’.
He claimed that those boards could be more productive if they first grew the ‘mahogany’ and then sent it to the Academy for refinement.
The coaches would then be able do wonderful things with it.
The coach was pointing out fundamental weaknesses in the region’s cricket education and cricket development programmes.
Those faults were not confined to physical and technical areas; they were also present in the strategic and psychological parts of the players’ game.
The coach was particularly concerned about the players’ work ethic, concentration, self-discipline and self-motivation.
He knew that at the highest levels of sport, the correlation between these four factors and success is greater than the correlation between ability and success.
The coach also knew that it takes at least 10,000 hours of continuous learning and practice to become an expert player.
That works out to about three hours practice a day for 10 years. After becoming an expert, the player must then continue to practice and learn in order to maintain his expertise.
Two powerful forces propelled the Worrell and Lloyd teams to superstardom and world dominance.
They were the suppression of insularity and the building of match winning teamwork.
Unfortunately, insularity has again shown its ugly head and is taking a toll on the health and development of West Indies cricket.
Moreover, teamwork has deteriorated and is now substandard. It needs to be improved.
One of Australia’s best racing car drivers, with whom I once worked, highlighted the importance of teamwork when he said: “In motor racing, you can’t win or achieve success unless you have a cohesive and strong team behind you. Your life and safety depend on their performance.
“The first criterion that is required is total commitment to high standards and to a common goal or result.
Loyalty and discipline are essential. Team members should have a shared vision and a common philosophy.
“The second criterion is the allocation of resources and expertise.
Expertise must be blended correctly in order to produce the best results.
“Individual members of the group must respect each other, share a common bond and have a relatively harmonious existence. Our philosophy is to help your mates. We care for each other and if someone is having problems with his job, the others will pitch in and help. Caring for each other and showing respect for each other create trust and cohesion in the team.
“Good communication is absolutely essential. You must also have a system in place to monitor what is going on, so that if there are any deviations from the normal they would be quickly identified and corrected.”
The best example of teamwork is found in the human body, where billions of cells cooperate and coordinate their activities to achieve the vision and common purpose of the body – health, survival and reproduction of the species. All structures, systems and functions are designed to be in sync and alignment with the body’s vision and purpose.
Communication, cooperation and coordination of effort are the cornerstones of good teamwork. When these factors are compromised teamwork suffers and is replaced by selfishness, internal bickering and destructive conflict.
The cancer is the epitome of selfishness and egotistical behaviour. It is not concerned about the health or survival of the body. It is only interested in itself and in its power to grow and spread throughout the body. People usually die from the spread of the cancer cells, in the same way that teamwork in the organization is killed by the spread of selfishness, infighting and misuse of power. But in killing the body, the cancer kills itself because it can only survive in a living body
‘Cancers’ are prevalent in many of today’s sports teams and sports organisations.
Organisations must be alert and vigilant if they wish to be healthy and successful.
That vigilance can help them to stamp out any ‘cancers’ or ‘metastases’ that might arise in the system.
CWI ought to understand that good performance and success are not just caused by the addition of new skills, resources or strategies. Success is also caused by the removal of bad habits, poor excuses, outmoded structures and traditions and by the elimination of budding or existing ‘cancers’.
