Tony Becca
THE NEXT assignment for the West Indies will be a one-day triangular series in Australia next January and, following their victory in the ICC Champions Trophy, it is a good bet that but for one man, every member of the squad that was in England will be in Australia.
That one man is Gus Logie.
The coach for just over one year, Logie has said that he is walking away - not because he wants to, but because he feels that with the West Indies shopping around for a foreign coach there will be no place for him.
With a record in Test matches of four victories and 13 losses, Logie cannot claim to have been a success. That, however, does not mean he should be the scapegoat and those who are blaming him for the poor record of the West Indies team should look at what is happening in West Indies cricket generally and at the attitude of the selectors who have been sending too many inexperienced youngsters to battle at the same time.
On top of that, like the coaches before him, the board did not support him never afforded him the authority he needed to get the players to do what he wanted them to do. Why was that so?
One reason was that some members on the board and on the selection committee did not believe Logie was a good enough coach to be the coach of the West Indies team.
To make matters worse, they did not hide it - and that must have made his job that more difficult.
NOT THE BEST OF FRIENDS
According to Logie, some selectors did not even speak to him and remembering also that he and the captain were not the best of friends, if that was so, and it appeared to really have been so, no wonder some of the players did not respect him and therefore hardly listened to him.
Whatever the reasons, Logie, a nice, quiet man who took things in his stride, was not a success as the West Indies coach and with winning as important as it is, he probably had to go willingly or not.
The question, however, is this: will Logie's successor fare any better?
If he is a West Indian, chances are he will not. If, however, he is a non-West Indian, as it appears he will be, chances are he will especially if, as is expected, he is an Australian or even an Englishman.
"A foreign coach will come into this area and will be given the resources and authority I never had to get the job done," said Logie, and that is exactly what will happen.
According to the board, the next coach, who obviously will be paid much more than any West Indian coach has ever been paid, will be in charge of West Indies cricket a control that no West Indian coach has ever enjoyed.
Apart from being a member of the selection committee, as the head coach, he will have the casting vote, as the head coach, he will be the man who decides the final XI, as the head coach, he will, with some input from the captain, plan strategies and tactics, as a foreigner, there is little doubt that he will be supported, strongly supported by the board; and that is why he has a good chance to succeed.
NEW SYSTEM
According to the board, in the new system the captain will lead the team on the field and carry out the strategies and the tactics which will be decided by the head coach with some help from the captain.
Who will be the new coach? No one is talking, but it is no secret that the board has been talking to Greg Chappell, to Rodney Marsh, and believe it or not, also to Bennett King the man who embarrassed the board last year and left it with no choice but to turn to Logie.
The new coach will be the one taking Logie's place in Australia, one of the players who will be in Australia with the team will be Brian Lara, he will be the captain, and especially after winning the ICC Champions Trophy, after defeating South Africa, Pakistan and England along the way, it will be interesting to see how he will deal with a situation in which he will be the No. 2 man and expected to follow the instructions, the strategies and tactics, of a foreign coach.
Lara is a proud West Indian, and he is unlikely to forget that the West Indies won without a foreign coach.
