The press last Wednesday reported Mr Gus Logie, manager/coach T&T cricket, as saying, "The players didn't step up." Really?
In my simple mind the above admission brings to mind the exercise of constructing a stairway or staircase of a house. This would depend on the size of the house, type of building to be constructed, the vision of the owner and in many cases an appreciation for esthetics among other things.
Such an exercise would be put in the hands of an architect with a vision and some expertise. He is not only educated in the technical aspects of such an exercise but, more importantly, he brings to the exercise a certain vision. In a sense a kind of organised Gestalt experience of seeing the whole as made up of several parts, each individual part affecting each other, the "whole being more than a sum of its parts."
What has all this got to do with cricket? Well, I ask, do our architects of West Indian cricket have this architectural vision? Yes, Mr Logie, "they are not stepping up." But I ask once more, where is the next step? Do our young cricketers know or indeed have some sense of where this next step is, or do they see some risk of suddenly dropping off into oblivion? Can they even visualise where the next step is? In my opinion, for many of them there is no next step. Where are the architects of these steps? Maybe in boardrooms thinking about their own self-preservation?
Remember the heyday of West Indies cricket? In this most simple, and one would scoff at, "Colonial times," there were steps. Young cricketers either internalised these steps or via dedication and commitment developed an intrinsic love of the game, many reaping enormous success. They yearned for the day when their name could be rostered alongside the greats of the game.
Steps to be taken
Step 1. You aspire to play for your school team's first eleven. Any fall from grace means you practice harder and perform in order to regain your place.
Step 2. Consistent performance opens the doors for selection on the island's schoolboy's eleven to play against a visiting island or regional team or in some cases. You feel a sense of achievement and/or your talents are being recognised.
Step 3. You leave school with a burning desire to represent one of the leading first division teams.
Step 4. Now you are in the big league, you see yourself in with a chance of being selected by your team (eg Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica) usually after being paraded at several trial games.
Step 5. And the ultimate step: you are being evaluated by knowledgable and credible pundits of the game. You are invited to trials by the West Indies Cricket Board. You have reached!
For many, these steps were achieved alongside good academic performances both at the secondary and tertiary level. Intuitively there was a sense of where one wanted to go. Sometimes this has to be created by people acting as mentors or role models who always guide you towards realistic and achievable goals.
Yes, some made it, some didn't. What this process did was to enrich the game and developed a sense of commitment, integrity in those who participated.
Mr Logie, they cant step up because they don't know where the next step is, imaginary or real.
Some would say we need a Messiah to show us the way.
Tony Jackman.