The presence of the Irish cricket team in the West Indies over the last few weeks has highlighted some key problems in West Indies cricket and provided more evidence of the difference between a team and a team of individuals.
In the NAGICO Super50 tournament, they were soundly thrashed by Guyana and Jamaica, neither of which made it to the final. In a warm-up T20 practice match, they were easily beaten by a second-string T&T side which included little-known players like Hosein, Richards, Ali, Castro, Jaipaul and Alfred, among others.
Yet, a few days later, this same Irish team humbled the World T20 Champions including all the "big guns" like Gayle, Smith, Samuels, Bravo, Sammy, Narine and Ramdin. Ireland restricted us to 116 for 8 and beat us easily. In the second game, we scored 96 for 9 and barely managed a thoroughly unconvincing win by 11 runs. Hardly an inspiring performance by the world champions.
How, you may ask, can Ireland fare so badly against Guyana, Jamaica and a T&T B team yet beat the mighty West Indies? It cannot be explained by pointing to the vagaries or unpredictability of T20 cricket. I believe it comes down to pride (or lack of it), motivation (or lack of it), discipline (or lack of it) and attitude.You just need to look at the attitude of these same players when playing for their country. They play with a pride and intensity that is simply lacking when they play for the West Indies. Why is this?
One can only surmise but it probably has to do with the eroding concept of West Indianess. When playing for their country, it is clear that national pride is very motivating. They want to win at all cost. When playing for the West Indies, who or what, exactly, are they playing for?
In the old days (1960s to 1980s), playing for the West Indies was an honour. There was a greater sense of West Indian pride and playing for a cause–to prove that little black boys were as good or better than the great white sharks and that massa could no longer dictate to us, at least in cricket. (What sweet irony that we have now come full circle and the West Indies Cricket Board is proud and happy to let massa (in the form of England, India and Australia) dictate to us once more.)
That form of motivation is long gone, almost certainly, never to return. Nowadays, the only motivating factor for the players appears to be money and this defines their attitude. They play for themselves and not the team.
The paradox is that representing their country pays way less than playing for the West Indies. So it is not money that makes them play harder or better. It is a strong, intrinsic pride fuelled by a sense of purpose. Therefore, those administrators who believe that throwing money at the problem (and, therefore, sell their souls for a few dollars more) will have another thing coming when that fails, as it is bound to, unless the other issues are addressed.
The challenge for the WICB is to find ways to instill in our players a united sense of purpose and an unrelenting desire to win.
Noel Kalicharan
via e-mail