Dear Editor,
I bring to your attention Pollard’s recent interview following game 2 against Ireland in the Caribbean. In his interview, after losing the second match to Ireland, Pollard not only criticizes his team mates, but publicly humiliated them. Comparatively speaking, the West Indies have been at the bottom of the table most of this time. West Indians had hoped the great Brian Lara would have been able to carry on from batting legends of Viv Richards, Richie Richardson or Carl Hooper. We waited and hoped. Hoped and waited some more. A decade had gone by and we have not seen any hint of rebuilding success. It was unthinkable to suggest this ship would sink deeper into the abyss over the next two decade. So where do we go from here? Petition the ICC? Go to the courts? The people of the Caribbean deserves better. I now redirect your attention to Pollard’s post-match interview following the second game. In a passionate manner, the captain quickly points out that the loss is attributed to players’ lack of fitness. Please keep this statement in mind as you will see it is not only baseless, but a direct attempt to blame a player who did not even play that game. The reality was that the player he blamed for failing the fitness test was half a continent away. A closer look at his statement, Pollard implies his team mates, only appears to be grown men, Pollard was determined to paint them as little children. His assertion is that, when under close watch by team officials, these players comply with fitness regimen. In my opinion he likens professionals to children. He admits “when management is not around”, players do not comply with contractual obligations and requirements. Here again, he likens players to children that requires adult supervision, or else they behave badly. Poor leaders often attribute failure to his workers as did Pollard, a poor leader, and blamed players. Here’s a look at his recent performance: from 2019-2022— 3, 0, 0, 9, 0, 15, 2, 11, 1 and 3. These scores are unacceptable to us and must also have consequences at the higher level. Is there a deduction of pay for such dismal performance? Of the last 9 matches in the Caribbean here’s how he did: @North Sound he scored a TOTAL of 68 runs from 3 innings. In Barbados, 69 from 3 innings, and in Jamaica he scored 73 from 3. It is standard practice to have the top 6 batsman on the team score the majority of the runs. Currently our top 6 resembles the bottom 6. In the last 3 matches, Shai Hope amassed a whopping 98, while hard hitting superstar Pooran managed only 16; Greaves 29, Brooks 137, Chase 33, Pollard 73. Well run organizations outline their mission, vision, goals, objectives and expectations of each department or unit. They also measure how they perform relative to their mission, vision and goals. A scapegoat was in the making, as Pollard did not think through how his comments would be viewed. You probably noticed that Pollard did not cite fitness as an issue after they won the first game. WHY?
My point is that a poor leader changes his excuse after every failure. The correct thing to say was: “Ireland was the better team today”. Or “we need to go back to the drawing board and re-examine our selection process, identify other options from top to bottom. Coach Simmons bemoaned that fitness has been an old problem. Again Editor, if one knows it’s an old problem, would you continue to respond to the same problem the same way? Organizational failure is to identify and remove obstacles to success. Every cricketing nation now has an elaborate team of professionals-from statistical analysts to fitness professionals. However, after touring, players lose that support and must find their own once they return home. One wonders if the WI management analyzed the availability of these resources on various islands. The following are available to players on tour: excellent gyms and equipment; physicians; physiotherapists; psychologist; massage therapist; dieticians; swimming pools, concierge to facilitate logistics. Players do not go back to small villages equipped with such sophisticated resources. In Hetmeyer’s case, I am not sure one could find a sports psychologist in Georgetown, or a physiotherapist familiar and specializing in professional athletes’ maintenance? You know, physios who are familiar with the kinds of exercises a cricketer needs to be engaged in, to pass specific tests related to fitness. Like running 44 yards in an 8 seconds. Perhaps jogging for 30 minutes while one’s physiological systems are being monitored and recorded for analysis regarding oxygen intake, heart rate at maximum exhaustion, or resting heart and pulse rate. These are not the same kind of fitness you and I know. Maintaining fitness for international cricket, involves using specific equipment, like a 10-pound heavy ball where the person using it trains specific muscles like obliques stretching and strengthening. Or in a batsman case, he uses specific pulleys and rubber bands to replicate the swinging arc and resistance of a bat when training to increase bat speed, hand speed etc.
Finally, has the WI outfit made their fitness regimens available to local gyms, and organizations to acquire such specialized resources to train off tour players? Implications: You cannot continue to dismiss talented individuals like Hetmeyer, because he presents intellectual challenges for you in the dressing rooms. You did it in the past with the players I have mentioned. In fact, former West Indian captain Ronnie Sarwan won a lawsuit against your organization for inducing psychological harm with your strategies. In my other conversations with other notable players, like Shiv Chanderpaul, he requested that I should not rock the boat with Gibson, because Shiv wanted to break the record. Shiv was afraid that if I made public, the dressing room abuses he endured, he would miss out by way of Gibson retaliation. This has to stop. It must stop. You have done sufficient damage to hundreds of young men. I believe that WI management, must acknowledge that they have not been good stewards of human capital, financial capital, nor with public’s trust with their care and management. In high performing organizations, members of the Board of Directors are keenly aware and informed as responsible fiduciaries and stewards. Further, in a well-run company, one would find established benchmarks for monitoring and evaluating performances. And finally, those high performing organizations understand risk management, how to mitigate risks per month, per quarter, annually. Not 30 years. After 3 decades of missteps WI must now abandon all strategies, mission and shortsighted vision for this organization. A new board must be comprised of qualified and accomplished leaders. Board members should be volunteers, not friends of Jimmy Adams, or Clive Lloyd, or country man. Proper leaders who are not afraid to lose their jobs, will hire the right people for every role, from CEO to captain, to physical trainer. A new WI management will embrace and engage objective auditors who can identify all threats, weaknesses, strengths and opportunities for the good of the whole.
Sincerely,
DeoChandra Sankar,
Toronto, CA
Gopaul S. Rampersaud,
Chapel Hill North Carolina, USA
