Many people in the Caribbean will say that there is good natural cricket talent in the region, particularly at the junior levels. Why then have multiple board presidents, CEOs, coaches and players failed to develop and utilize that ability effectively? For some time, West Indies cricket has been trapped in an ever-increasing failure spiral and one wonders if the leaders have been taking the players down the wrong path and focusing on the wrong performance priorities.
Ability is necessary for good performance. However, it is just an indicator of potential. It only shows what a player is capable of doing but it does not guarantee that he will do it. Motivation, on the other hand, indicates why the player will do it and how likely he is to do it. In fact the depth of his motivation and self-discipline often determines the level of his performance.
Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid once said, “When we look at talent in cricket we often see it as the ability to hit a ball or bowl a ball. Many so-called talented players are deficient in other areas, particularly in the mental areas and hardly ever make it to the top. They don’t understand how the mind works and don’t work hard enough to get to know and understand themselves.”
