PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC:
WEST INDIES coach Bennett King says he is willing to take his share of the blame for his team's drubbing by South Africa in the just-concluded Test and one-day international series.
The Windies lost 2-0 in the Test series and 5-0 in the ODIs, as South Africa extended their dominance over the regional side.
"I'm prepared to take the blame for a lot of the stuff because we've had to try and come in a very short space of time and play Test cricket and one-day cricket, and we've worked the boys hard in that time," King was quoted as saying in The Trinidad Express.
"We're pushing them harder. I offer no excuses there. And that's why I said I'm not blaming my players for feeling tired when they come into matches, that's my fault. To be honest, they've fronted up in matches and they've been tired, physically, which probably goes into their mental side as well."
King said he had been realistic about the team's chances in the series against South Africa and, therefore, was not altogether surprised by the results.
"I wasn't expecting anything different," he said. "The results, even though they won the ICC, you have to look at the history over the last three or four years. It's been a tough road for the West Indian fans and the cricketers themselves. I'm pretty realistic about where we are at the moment."
MORE SMILES
He added, "We've got to find a way where these players understand the requirements that are needed for international cricket. And that's my responsibility. Yep, we take some losses but, in the long term, what we are working towards is that there are going to be a lot more smiles rather than a lot more disappointment."
King, who took charge of the regional team last year, pointed to the inconsistency of the batsmen as being the main reason for the team's failure and noted that some of the side's top batsmen had not yet fully matured.
"I still believe that Chris Gayle at his tender age and Ronnie Sarwan at his tender age, they're still only 24, 25 and when you look around the globe with cricketers, people are starting to come into their own by the time they are 27, and they are actually playing much better when they are in their 30s ..." King explained.
"I'm not asking people to be patient, I'm asking people to be thoughtful which is what we ask our players to be."
King also said that the issues with the quality of the West Indies bowling were as a result of the current state of regional cricket.
"Some of the bowling issues for me stem from regional cricket," he continued. "How much time do you need to develop some of these people for international cricket? We're going to have to keep them in there and people are going to have to suffer through some bowling spells that may not be quite as good if they are the people we're gonna target to lead West Indies into the future.
"We've gotta take a trusting approach and be prepared to spend large amount of times so that they learn."
