Name-calling does cricket no good

Grief can often induce unwarranted pessimism but the untimely deaths of Malcolm Marshall and Sir Conrad Hunte in such quick succession have simply heightened concern over the state of West Indies cricket.

Marshall and Hunte were two able and energetic leaders with a refreshingly confident view of the future.

They were beacons of hope in the gloom that shrouds our game at present and continues to deepen with every passing week.

Hunte especially could see clearly the damage being done by the internal dissension and negativity that now so frequently manifest themselves.

Like everyone devoted to West Indies cricket, he was distressed by them all last year's players' strike, the open conflicts within the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), the bitterness of the campaign that eventually brought him to the presidency of the BCA, the repeated insular utterings of those in positions of influence.

The latest trans-global, cyberspace quarrel would have upset him even more.

There, on the WorldWide Web, was Clive Lloyd, as eminent a West Indian as Sir Conrad himself, once more venting his frustration at not having the authority he craves but is prescribed in his role as team manager.

Above all, as he has made it repeatedly plain, he wants more involvement in team selection and claims, as he has repeatedly done, that he is not even consulted on such matters.

There, on the fax machines, news wires, sports pages and radio bulletins, is the rebuttal from Mike Findlay, the chairman of selectors, stating that a process of consultation has, indeed, been in place since 1996 but explaining that it was not possible prior to the current New Zealand tour for the simple reason that no manager had been appointed when his panel met to choose the team.

Findlay's explanation is long and detailed and the message is clear. To precis, it says enough is enough .

Back from distant Christchurch, of the New Zealand not Barbados variety, comes a retort from Lloyd that contains language that would not have been out of place directed as an aside from the back bench of the House of Assembly.

I think Mr. Findlay is getting old and crotchety, really, the 55-year-old manager said of the 56-year-old chairman. Thankfully, Findlay has not yet chosen to return the compliment.

Whether Lloyd's comment was meant as nothing more than a leg-pulling wisecrack or whether he has a point about his overall role or not, the episode does him no credit whatsoever.

As I have previously written, I believe his knowledge and experience are wasted in the confines of his position as manager. His discontent is understandable but it has turned into an obsession that can only disrupt the team itself.

What must some of the junior players in New Zealand think when they read that their renowned manager is upset that he had no say in their selection? How does he generate unity within his ranks when there is such blatant disunity between himself and the chairman of selectors?

Before accepting the job for the tour of New Zealand, Lloyd should first have put his case squarely before the WICB.

To remain as manager and yet keep on harping about his own unsatisfactory situation is pressing the accelerator with the handbrake up. It will get West Indies cricket nowhere and it has been stalled for too long.