By Dr. Rudi Webster
0y 2018 the West Indies cricket team was in ninth position in the ICC Test rankings, just ahead of Zimbabwe; and In the ODI rankings the team nudged out Afghanistan for the ninth place. That was a bit of a surprise because Afghanistan defeated West Indies in their last three encounters.
Outdated structures, adversarial and self-defeating environments, as well as increasingly dysfunctional and autocratic leadership within the organization contributed greatly to the team’s downfall. So too have ineffective performance enhancing programmes, poorly designed development agendas and major changes in the players’ and the board’s values, attitudes, priorities and responsibilities.
Today, a private business performing at the same level as the current West Indies team would abruptly dismiss its chairman/president and its board of directors in order to survive and change its fortune. Over the years, numerous head coaches and specialist coaches have tried but failed to arrest and reverse the West Indies’ failure spiral. Their teams were not the most talented but even so, they played well below their potential. The good news is that the team’s performance can be improved with just a few intelligent and fundamental changes.
