After all the problems which have surrounded the WI cricket team since their refusal to continue their tour to India, many of the local scribes were heavily critical as to whom was responsible for the debacle.The finger pointing began with the players because they were the group that made the ultimate decision, until the real issues brought into focus the WICB and Wipa.
The delay in dealing with the matter incited an angry response by the Indian authorities, correctly so, and the call for repayment of over $40 million became the amount which India requested.Giving way to the World Cup in Australia/New Zealand, it allowed the various stakeholders to seek solutions which could have the minimal effect on all concerned.
Even the Caricom heads of Government jumped into the fray, causing many of the Caribbean people to believe that they would come together and finance the amount sought by India.Now, it is the turn of the former president of the ICC, Ishan Bani, arguably the most influential figure in world cricket administration.
The multimillionaire decided to make statements which he claimed will help to restore the previous quality of West indies cricket.Some claimed that the now president of the BCCI may have advised some of the top WI players who were all super stars in the IPL, one way or another.Insufficient information regarding his input was disregarded and maybe the strength of his present advice can cause the WICB to lend an ear.
However, I do not share the view of the former president that the return to top quality of our cricket will be solved if the ruling be put into place for the cricketing countries to control the movement of their cricketers, especially those whose presence in the Test team will surely bring some form of improvement to the structure, an implication that the players will now be available to play Test cricket as a priority over all and sundry, whether it be IPL, CPL or any other.
He holds money as the main reason why these players are making choices which have brought mediocre quality to the Test squad.I beg to differ on this one. Our new brand of young Test players has failed to make the necessary adjustments to facilitate the type of game they should play when they switch from one form of cricket to another.
The results are seen and realistically the pendulum swung heavily against those who were showing stability and reliabilty before the satellite cricket became a financial attraction.I could think of a number of excellent young players like Adrian Bharath, for instance, whose early innings startled the Australians in the early stages and made him a marquee batsman.
Suddenly, his technically sound cover drives and orthodox on drives, were turned into some reckless open-faced slashes outside his off stump, without the foot movement which brought his competence and high scores previously.He jumped upon the money wagon by invitation, but failed to change his tactics without losing his solid technique.
Mr Bani may not have understood the reasons for the West Indies' failure and proposed that money be given to Test players by the franchises that wished to use their services. That will not solve the problem.Any type of adjustment could have been recognised by the strategy utilised by the Australians, who made sensible judgments in order to have Test players separated from the swashbuckling batters.
It is strange that many West Indian players like Dwayne Smith, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, to name a few, got caught in the middle of both styles and have lost their places.
There is no shortcut to an improved state of our cricket, other than taking the realistic approach by assessing every player, analysing their strengths and weaknesses, correcting their faults, technical or tactical, and having some of our finest former players like Andy Roberts, Ian Bishop, Curtly Ambrose, Gordon Greenidge, Gus Logie, work in tandem with head coach Phil Simmons to recreate the original talent which we have seen in players like Darren Bravo, Kraigg Brathwaite and Lendl Simmons, as well as young Jermaine Blackwood and Jonathan Carter who add to the exciting potential images of many youth Caribbean players.
Each territory should be conscious of their commitment to developing the young players into Test match quality. Of course, there must also be the realistic review of players like Chanderpaul, Sulieman Benn, Chris Gayle, and to a lesser extent, Marlon Samuels. There are many kinks in their armoury, ageing in some cases. A repair seems vastly difficult, if not impossible.
Thanks for your advice Mr Bani, and may I suggest that you recommend the fix for the financial situation which our country created and have difficulty in finding a solution.Finally, I am interested in hearing from the international experts about the banning of Sunil Narine's off-breaks.
Forgive me, but many bowlers have different ways of delivering off breaks. Some are actually appearing to be legal, while the others do not look quite the same.
Does that give the ICC or the IPL the right to stop Narine from bowling the off break or will the experts be aware that he may be capable of bowling legal off breaks.Is this a war against Narine? If not, what is wrong with giving the umpires the right to call "no ball" when they see it fit. Think about it, Mr Bani.