On The Cricket Pitch

Consistent inconsistencies a feature of WI cricket

Philip Hackett

Wednesday,  December 29, 2004

The West Indies cricket team sets off for Australia today (Wednesday) eager to build on the success of the ICC Champions Trophy success almost four months ago.

They will be ‘down under’ competing in the VB series, a triangular limited overs tournament involving Pakistan and Australia. With a virtually new management party the regional team will be keen to show a new level of competitiveness under the new coaching staff led by head coach Bennett King. 

As if the appointment of foreign coaches and the recent impasse between the players and the Board were not enough to spark animated discussion, the selectors and the WICB provided more fuel by naming Shivnarine Chanderpaul as vice captain in place of Ramnaresh Sarwan.

When Sarwan was named vice captain of the West Indies team it created some controversy as many felt the more senior player, Chanderpaul should have been given the position. The plot intensified when the Guyana cricket board gave Chanderpaul leadership of the Guyana team in the absence of Carl Hooper.

The WICB explained that the appointment of Sarwan was an investment for the future. It is interesting that they have now aborted that plan by appointing Chanderpaul. In the midst of the controversy when Sarwan was overlooked for the captaincy of Guyana, I expressed the view that the West Indies had seldom used the position of vice captain as a training ground for captaincy. At that time I supported Guyana’s right to name a captain of their choice without being guided by the WICB, which had in the past proven to be unreliable.

While many felt that Guyana’s position on the captaincy issue was based on factors other than cricket, the decision of their board to stick with Chanderpaul who had been understudy to Hooper now seems to be vindicated.

Nevertheless it again confirms the inconsistency of the WICB. It could be that Chanderpaul’s appointment is simply a reflection of coach King’s policy of rewarding performance rather than potential. While Sarwan may be a leader of the future he has had little experience as captain. Chanderpaul on the other hand led Guyana to the Red Stripe Bowl championship last year, despite widespread criticism of his tactics and again this year he was in charge when Guyana made it as far as the final in the regional one-day tournament. 

Of course success could not have been the only criterion or the obvious choice would have been Courtney Browne who has been having an excellent run at the helm of the Barbados team. Browne however is four years older than Chanderpaul who is five years Lara’s junior and hence a more likely successor.

Whatever rationale is used to explain Chanderpaul’s promotion it will be difficult to convince some skeptics that it is not simply a reward for Chanderpaul’s apparent loyalty during the recent impasse. Chanderpaul was one of nine players who accepted the original terms set out by the WICB. With Chanderpaul as vice captain the Board is now one step away from having a captain who will not be an embarrassment to sponsors Digicel since Lara has a personal sponsorship with Digicel’s rival company Cable & Wireless.

If these were considerations in the choice of vice captain the WICB should be warned against making cricket decisions based on the desires of sponsors. Sponsorship money is necessary for the survival of sport but if sponsors are allowed to influence decisions that should be made by cricket experts cricket will suffer in the long run.

The sponsorship of the regional tournament by Red Stripe resulted in a move that has retarded the growth of the sport in the region. By agreeing to allow Jamaica to host the finals and at least one leg of the tournament every year, other Caribbean countries lost the opportunity to develop the skills needed to organize a major tournament. Such an experience would have been invaluable as we are now preparing to host the 2007 World Cup.

This year’s tournament was the first in which Jamaica played away from home since the Red Stripe sponsorship and it showed when a talented team could not even qualify for the play offs.

The decision has been made and I wish Chanderpaul, Lara and the entire West Indies team well. As we lend our support to King and his staff let us not forget the achievement of the team under Gus Logie. Many positive comments have been made about Coach King. Hopefully those who have been quick to endorse the new regime will also show the necessary patience to support the team through the challenges they are sure to experience as the rebuilding phase in West Indies cricket continues.

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