Dear Editor,
It may always have been this way, but for reasons not clear to me there is a more widespread view today that we are less respectful of expertise, especially in circumstances when there are no personal consequences for being disrespectful. I tend myself to lean in the direction of much respect for experts.
I watch a lot of international cricket and have seen, I believe, every game Shai Hope has played for the West Indies. I did not over all these months discern what was special about this young man, but it did not escape me that Jeff Dujohn and Ian Bishop seemed quite certain that there was something special about him, and tried often to disclose what their reasons were for thinking the way they did. Now Dujohn struck me as a very self-confident guy who does not suffer fools gladly, and Bishop, who, apart from his tendency to prefer the uncommon word, seemed to be an exceptionally perceptive analyst. In their reasons for their assessment Dujohn tended to focus more on technique and Bishop more on work ethic. It had long been clear to me that these guys, Dujohn and Bishop whether you liked them or not, knew this game well. In fact I thought they were experts. So their confidence in and their certainty about Hope’s potential led me to pay attention to Hope’s progress with some confidence that I would be witness to the emergence of another West Indian star batsman. My faith in the expertise of Dujohn and Bishop was rewarded by these victory producing innings at Old Trafford.
The truth is I love cricket, but I don`t know it in the same sense as these ‘experts’. Often it is a good idea to pay attention to those who know more than you do about a particular subject.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
