Good call Sir Vivian (17 June 1999)

17 June 1999

Good call Sir Vivian

Tony Becca

Former Captain and batting maestro, Sir Vivian Richards has called for sweeping changes in the West Indies team, and hopefully the call will not fall on deaf ears.

Richards is not the first to have made the call. Those who have done so in recent times include Clive Lloyd and Sir Garfield Sobers.

Lloyd's pet complaint as manager has always been that some of the players have no right in the West Indies team because they are not committed. Sobers believes that batting is a lost art in West Indies cricket, and according to Richards who has been close to the team these past few months, half of them should go - not so much because they are short of talent but because they lack pride and the spirit to lift the team.

Although the selectors have refused to listen to Lloyd and Sobers, may be, just may be, they will act now that another former great has joined the call for changes. In fact, with the call now coming from not one, not two, but from three who have been to the war, three of the greatest cricketers of all time, three who served as leaders of West Indies cricket, and three who have followed West Indies cricket closely, if the selectors fail to act accordingly they should be held responsible for the fortunes of West Indies cricket.

There is also one other reason why the call of the illustrious three should be heeded. The main problem with West Indies cricket at this time is its batting, and apart from citing poor technique as one of the reasons, all three have lamented the general lack of confidence which sees so many of the region's batsmen plodding forward and blocking, or using their pads instead of their bats regardless of the pitch, the standard of the bowling, or the state of the match.

That probably hurts them more than anything else. All three were confidence personified, all three drove fear into bowlers and were so successful that Lloyd was numbered among the best of his time, Sobers and Richards among the best of all time, and all three won many matches for the West Indies through glorious strokeplay.

Are the West Indies selectors to blame for the crisis?

Maybe not. West Indies batting is at the lowest it has ever been, the selectors can only select from what they are presented, and with the young batsmen not demanding selection by performance in the regional competitions, they probably feel obliged to stick with those who perform at that level.

There comes a time, however, when the selectors should realise that some players simply do not have the capacity, technically or mentally, to perform at the highest level, that the more players fail the more they lose confidence, and that they have nothing to lose by offering opportunities to young players - some of whom will demonstrate the capacity to perform and rise to the occasion.

Sir Vivian is right. The time has come to look for some young blood - especially some young batsmen who, even if they are short of talent are certainly not punch-drunk, are dreaming of a place in the sun and dedicated to finding it, are blessed with the adventurous spirit of youth, are confident and committed, and who, on top of all that, may have the capacity to perform.

Right now, there are not many young guns around, but there are a few, especially in the circumstances, who deserve the opportunity.

Among the few are Ramnaresh Sarwan of Guyana, Darren Ganga of Trinidad and Tobago, Christopher Gayle, Wavell Hinds and Ricardo Powell of Jamaica, and if only he will get a few runs in the Busta Cup, Sylvester Joseph of Antigua.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner