It has not been a good week for that critically endangered species, the West Indian cricket fan.
Last Saturday, the West Indies succumbed to their second largest margin of defeat ever in a Test match, bowing out to India, the number one ranked Test team, by an innings and 272 runs in the First Test at Rajkot, in their third straight three-day loss in Tests in India, where they have not won a Test match since 1994.
It was the worst defeat that India has ever inflicted in a Test, surpassing their innings and 262 runs destruction of Afghanistan on their Test debut four months ago. The match lasted all of two and a half days, as the hapless West Indians surrendered 649 runs whilst managing two paltry innings of 181 and 196 runs. Fourteen wickets fell on the third day as the West Indians, who seem to be stuck in a limited overs frame of mind, lasted all of 98.5 overs. The procession of batsmen returning to the pavilion, was accentuated by the fact that only six of them were dismissed attempting a defensive shot.
On Monday, Trinidadian Daren Ganga, former West Indian Captain, now television commentator, in an interview with The Indian Express, an English language daily newspaper, lamented their “meek surrender.” Ganga noted that this performance was in complete contrast to those of earlier in the year when they won three out of five Tests at home, whilst losing only once to Sri Lanka.
Ganga’s analysis of the state of West Indies cricket focused not on the Rajkot disaster but on the rot in the administration of the game in the Caribbean. Obviously totally disgruntled with the current powers that be, the former opening batsman waded into attack.
“There are many other deficiencies that have a correlation to the quality of cricket we produce at the highest level. Our coaching education program and the coaching certification program haven’t been in existence for many number of years. When you think about how that’s not been consistently addressed over the years, you realise there’s been over a generation of cricketers who’ve been coming out of the grass-root levels, who have not interfaced with quality coaches, not learnt the proper technique or approaches, who are currently going through a process of unlearning and therefore developing into substandard cricketers. The coaching education should ideally be in alignment with the player development pathway. That is a fundamental issue. It’s a hit-or-miss situation.
“The administrative arm and the vehicles that administer the game, I speak directly about the territorial boards, the constitution and framework is archaic and outdated. And they’re charged with the responsibility to support a modern, dynamic game. There are lot of things being done to change but there is an old guard that continues to hold on to power, like the incumbent group of executives in Trinidad & Tobago who continue to inherit power. Those in control are not willing to relieve them because their self-interest comes in between with the greater good of the game. That’s a direct negative in the quality of play that we showcase to the world,” Ganga bemoaned to the newspaper.
Ganga’s vocal disapproval of the way West Indian cricket is being run only serves as confirmation for the resentful fans’ suspicions. He further grieves over the fact that the younger players are sacrificing first-class cricket in favour of the T20 format. This problem seems to be of little or no consequence to the board members, who have chosen to continue to ignore all attempts to change the way the game is run in the region.
On Monday, the selectors also announced the squads for the ODIs and the T20s to follow the two Test matches in India. West Indian fans will, of course, be pleased to see the return of Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell to the team for the T20 series, along with the inclusion of the youngsters Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen and Oshane Thomas. Allen and Thomas are also included in the ODI squad, along with the uncapped Chandrapaul Hemraj. However, they were just as equally disappointed to hear that Chris Gayle had announced his unavailability for the limited overs series in India and the subsequent tour to Bangladesh, while citing personal reasons.
It is worth noting that Gayle, as he has been doing at every opportunity over the last several months, declared that he will available for next year’s World Cup in England. Based upon the statement issued by the Chairman of the Selectors, Courtney Browne, “We will be without our stalwart, Chris Gayle for this Indian tour … however, he has made himself available for selection for the visit of England to the Caribbean and the World Cup in 2019,” one can assume his place in the squad is a fait accompli.
Well, well, there you have it directly from the Chairman’s mouth. ‘Our stalwart’ will decide when he wants to play. Gayle, who announced that last Saturday’s Regional Super 50 game versus Barbados in which he scored a century, was his last List A for Jamaica, claims that there is “still a lot left in the tank.”
In case you missed it, the latest T20 League, the Afghanistan Premier League commenced last Friday in Sharjah, and will run until 20th October, and Chris Gayle will be appearing for the Balkh Legends. (The ODIs and the T20 matches versus India, run from 21st October to 11th November).
The terrible truth is that Gayle is now past his best and is refusing to leave the limelight quietly. He has now ‘picked himself’ for next year’s World Cup, so one would not be surprised if he becomes unavailable during England’s visit, thus saving any chance of further exposure of the ineptitude he displayed in the field during the recently concluded CPL season.
As Ganga stated in the interview, “The alarm bells are still ringing. But they’ve been ringing from five to seven to ten years, you get jaded hearing them ring. That’s been the case in the West Indian setup. You no longer get a jolt from the performance like Rajkot. Some people are disenchanted while others have given up interest or don’t have the energy to fight for reform and put things right …”
The Second Test begins on Friday in Hyderabad. Which West Indies team will show up? Will the alarm bells continue to ring? We will find out by Sunday.
