Sir Everton: Talent lacking

Don't blame the selectors. It's the lack of talent we have in the West Indies. This was the opinion of former West Indies batting supremo, Sir Everton Weekes, to fans yesterday and he said it was time for Caribbean cricket fans to face up to reality.

Speaking on a Voice of Barbados discussion programme, Sir Everton said: "I think we have been trying to put the blame on all kinds of people including the selectors. I don't think it is a fair thing to do at this stage."

He felt that most of the present crop of players were lacking the necessary talent to play the game at the highest level.

"I think that if we look at it in real terms of ability I think that we are lacking very much." Former president of the West Indies Cricket Board of Control (renamed West Indies Cricket Board), Peter Short, shared Sir Everton's view with regard to apportioning blame.

"I believe the selectors, as they have done over the years, have done an excellent job and there are very few players that you can say have been left out either from the tours in the early part of the year or right up to this present tour," Short said.

He added it was sad that, according to the recent Coopers and Lybrand ratings, the West Indies were fighting with Zimbabwe "in propping up the bottom of the pile of Test cricket".

With respect to the team being dependent on batting ace Brian Lara, Sir Everton noted that this was similar to the late 1920s and early 1930s when "we had the great George Headley in the team as a batsman".

"Fortunately for us we were able to beat Zimbabwe. I am not so sure that we beat Pakistan, but the records will show that. I think that those were our ups but our downs have come so rapidly. Our decline has gone on so quickly that it is unbelievable," Sir Everton said.