Walcott Warns WI (6 August 1999)

6 August 1999

Walcott Warns WI

Mark Pouchet

IF the West Indies are to rise to the top of the cricketing world once more, Sir Clyde Walcott said yesterday, raw talent cannot be relied on to get them there.

Walcott made the statement at the Queen's Park Oval where his new autobiography, entitled "60 Years on the Backfoot", was formally launched in Trinidad and Tobago.

The former Test batsman/wicketkeeper, whose top level cricket was played as a member of the three Ws, also advised against depending on the great cricketing history of the Caribbean to rescue the region from the morass into which it has apparently sunk.

"We cannot rely on what we did in the past," he warned, "nor can we rely on natural talent."

Declaring that the West Indies need to be "at least competitive" at the Test cricket again, the 73-year-old former ICC chairman added that "we needed to win more often than not because we know what cricket means to people in the Caribbean".

He pointed out that the West Indian public had become spoilt after the Caribbean side's 16-year domination of the international cricket scene and expected the team to continue winning indefinitely.

That was unrealistic, he said, but it is possible to return to the top position. To do so, the former ICC chairman recommended that the cricketing authorities focus on the coaching and development of young players in the region.

"We need to do something to keep our young players motivated. We have to change our approach to coaching. We need to use the technology to show how and why to do certain things and also show the faults in technique."

About the book, the former West Indies selector claimed that the book dealt principally with his cricketing career.

It also contained chapters on administration of cricket in the Caribbean and in the world and, inevitably, discusses the careers of the 3 Ws, Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and himself who were all knighted by the Queen for their services to cricket.

Walcott, who succeeded Sir Colin Cowdrey as the first non-British chairman of the International Cricket Council in 1993, also discusses his experience in that position, describing it as "very interesting" and "most difficult". The autobiography also treats the return of South Africa to international cricket, Australia and England's right to a veto vote in the ICC as well as the period when he was a West Indies selector.

In his turn at the microphone, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, Alloy Lequay explained that Walcott's latest contribution to West Indian history would add to our inheritance and provide relevant historical data.

Lequay also promised that Walcott's autobiography would be placed on the shelves of the new National Cricket Centre where young cricketers could use it to learn more about the game.

But chairman of Neal and Massy and CCN group Ken Gordon described himself as "extremely happy" that Walcott, whose 3,798 runs included 15 centuries with a top score of 220, had undertaken to write the book.

However, he expressed disappointment at the low level of publicity given to the launch, noting that his first inkling of the occasion had come with his invitation a mere 48 hours earlier.

Source :: The Trinidad Express