By Tony Becca, Contributing EditorRAWLE BRANCKER, the usually reserved and calm former Barbadian representative and a member of the West Indies tour party to England in 1966, was one of a number of angry West Indians calling for a clean sweep of the management team after Sunday's dismal batting at Sabina Park.
According to the man who is now chairman of the International Cricket Council's Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 inc., Sunday's performance which saw the West Indies routed for a record low 47 runs was a disgrace.
MANAGEMENT PROBLEM
Manager Ricky Skerritt, coach Gus Logie and captain Brian Lara contributed to it as they failed to make the players understand what they are getting paid to do, that is a management problem, in the interest of West Indies cricket, they should go, and that makes sense, and good sense at that - but only if that is the real problem and the only problem.
The trouble, however, is that that is not the only problem, and the man who may have hit the nail on the head is Sean Thompson - a cricket fan in Bridgetown.
According to Thompson, the problem is this: cricket is a man's game, not a boy's game.
After losing the title as the best in the world in 1995, the West Indies have been sliding and sliding.
Although they have, from time to time, hinted that they are on the way back, they have been blown away for 51 by Australia, for 54 and 61 by England, and for 47 by England in the past four years.
They have conceded totals above 500 so many times that it is difficult to keep count, they are now ranked eighth among the 10 Test teams, and although many West Indians do not want to accept it, at times they look technically inferior to even Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - the Cinderellas of cricket who are the only teams ranked behind them.
In any language, that is embarrassing and it is high time those in charge of West Indies cricket find out why, or accept why and do something about it.
One reason is definitely that there are too many youngsters in the team - young batsmen who have scored one century in first-class cricket, young bowlers who have taken a few wickets in first-class cricket, young players who have been selected as batsmen despite having played only a match or two for their territories and never scored a century, young players who have been selected as bowlers despite having not played for their territories, young players who, despite still only learning the game, have been selected to represent the West Indies.
Is it the fault of the selectors? In some cases it is definitely so. In some cases, however, it is not so.
The emphasis on the selection of young players - the selection of young players out of the blue and without credentials has chased older players out of the game simply because they, including those who got a chance when they were young, did not deserve it and failed, believe they have no chance, and the selectors must be blamed for that for sending cadets to war and for burying them, for forgetting them, because they were wounded.
THE FAULT LIES WITH THE BOARD
The fault, however, also lies with the board and the Players' Association.
As selectors, the West Indies selectors can only select from what is available and apart from the problem caused by their own attitude, because neither the West Indies Board nor the Players' Association is doing anything about a reasonable financial return for players at the first-class level, because they stop playing as soon as they realise there is no future for them as far as West Indies cricket is concerned, what is available is a bunch of young players who, as talented as they may be, are not ready to perform, certainly not consistently, not when the pressure is on, and that will not change until the system is changed.
Apart from being forced to select from a set of young players, the absence of older players also affects the development of the young players who are being asked to go out and perform against players, who, most of them, are fully developed technically, physically, and mentally.
Looking at the West Indies players and those from South Africa, it was boys versus men, and looking at the West Indies players and those from England, it is boys versus men. It is as simple as that.
When will it change? If they do not become punch drunk, it will change when these youngsters have matured but more so if and when the Board and the Players' Association realise that they need the older players who, apart from chasing their own dreams, can assist in the development of the younger players by playing with and against them.
