West Indies cricket needs a rethink

EDITOR: West Indies white ball cricket team has not yet returned the joy and smile on West Indian faces, for they are consistently loosing as if it is a style. Cricket fans around the Caribbean have, by now, accept loosing as a norm. I am sure that thousands of persons have lost confidence in the West Indies and no longer watch cricket. I guess it is only the die hard and faithful that still follow the games.

With the loosing streak continuing many questions surface. Looking at both the bowlers and batters, we see a lack of cricket sense. Those close games that we lost could have been won had the batsmen use their heads and take more singles than they did. This is indeed a lack of cricketing sense. On the second game, where the bowlers had to defend a good total we see some of the bowlers bowling far too many loose balls in the final ten overs. So it makes us wonder where is the cricketing sense.

Then there is the captain, he could have been more attacking and aggressive on many occasions. After all, the best defence is to get wickets. The removal of the slips, especially first slip, gives the batsmen more freedom to hit balls, even good ones, outside the off stump. Also, does the captain, Pooran, inspire and motivate the players to perform at their best?

Looking at the skills – technique and shot selection, of the batsmen and the types of deliveries from the bowlers, with bad line and length, make me wonder if the players are teachable or is it a case where the coaches lack the ability to effectively coach. Maybe the coaches themselves do not know how to teach the batsmen how to negotiate the spinners and coach the bowlers how to bowl “yorkers”. If it is a case of players not applying what they were taught, then it is obvious the players are not teachable.

I recommend that at an early age, while players are in their teens, they are taught the correct way to bat and bowl. It is clear that work is needed in those areas. If at an early age they are taught these things and they can execute them well, when they get on the big stage they will execute and perform better than these current players.

For the life of me, I can’t understand this Duck /Lewis thing in cricket. How can you tell me that a team made 225 runs in 36 overs and team in response has to make 257 runs in 35 overs? It is just not fair. Long ago it was done by the average, where the average run rate was taken and the target was then worked out. To me that was more fair than what is done now.

All in all, some drastic changes need to be done, in terms of coaching staff and plenty work is needed with the current players we have available. We do have a long way to go. Cricket is not only played with bat and ball, but with the head. It is from the head the action and performance follow. The lack of match awareness is a sign of weakness in the head, where the players are not thinking and assessing.

Importantly, the use of DATA plays an important role in planning. I wonder if the team coaches and captain use DATA to assess their opponents in order to plan for them and also to assess the West Indies players’ strengths and weaknesses. This is an advanced age and so technology plays an important role. Therefore both coaches and players must spend some time using technology to assess strengths and weaknesses.

Interestingly we are seeing players who are performing well for their various franchises, but are failing to perform for the West Indies.

Of course we know that for the franchises they must perform to be given another contract and also their performances will determine their cash and future in the franchise. Many of these players in their early stage used to perform for the West Indies, which resulted in many gaining contracts in the IPL, but after making the IPL they seem to care little about West Indies cricket.

Maybe it is time to pay according to performances. This should make some of our players improve and show some commitment to West Indies cricket. But, let us rally around the West Indies and hope they will improve and make us proud again.

Kennard King