Windies' cricket needs a new leader (21 January 1999)

21 January 1999

Windies' cricket needs a new leader

Tony Becca

West Indians are hurting. After basking in the glory of their team which ruled the world between 1976 and 1995, the fans are lamenting the performance of the Windies in South Africa, and they are calling for heads to roll - including those of manager Clive Lloyd, coach Malcolm Marshall, and batsman Carl Hooper.

The one they want more than all, however, is that of the captain - not so much because of what some see as Brain Lara's many blunders on the field, not so much because of his failure to motivate the players, but because of his part in the pre-tour strike which they believe demonstrated a lack of commitment to West Indies cricket and his attitude after the fall-out which took place in South Africa.

The strike for money not only underlined the greed which has crept into West Indies cricket but it also brought into focus the players lack of appreciation for the struggle in South Africa and for their role as ambassadors of the West Indian people.

With people in the West Indies, in South Africa, and elsewhere around the world labelling them as mercenaries without soul and without a social consciousness, it also put them under pressure to perform. And the more they failed, the more the pressure mounted - to the extent that even when they attempted to make peace with each other and to come together as one, the burden was too heavy.

As the captain on the field, Lara can be forgiven for whatever mistakes he may have made. It is never easy for a losing captain and it is always easy to second guess a captain when things go wrong.

Apart from the arrogance and the selfishness which led him to lobby for the captaincy while playing under Richie Richardson and Courtney Walsh, apart from the disunity which his behaviour created in those teams, Lara has at least two strikes against him.

As the leader of the team, he, along with other senior members, destroyed the team as a fighting unit on the eve of an important series; and then, after the fall-out, instead of rallying them for the fight, he de-motivated them by his attitude - especially towards the younger players.

Even if Lara, as a tactician, is as good as so many of us once believed, West Indies cricket at this stage needs more than that. West Indies cricket needs a leader - a man who can put his ego aside in the interest of his team, a man who all the players respect, a man with the ability to lead from the front and a man with the capacity to build a team around him.

What West Indies cricket does not need at this time is one who does not lead from the front - who does not train enough in order to perform and to set an example, one who constantly talk about "the guys" and not "we guys", one who is out playing golf rather than tending his flock, looking at his young players, discussing problems and motivating them, and one who, as the top batsman, refuses to take on responsibility as he did in the second innings of the second Test when, with the team in need of an inspirational performance, he, the regular man at number three, sent Ridley Jacobs to bat in that position minutes before lunch.

Lara does not seem capable of building a West Indies team and because of that he should be relieved of the captaincy - even if his ego is such that he will then walk away.

The question, however, is this: is the West Indies selection committee strong enough to remove him?

The answer? Not likely. According to Mike Findlay, chairman of the selection committee, a meeting will be held with the team management and if it depends on that, nothing will happen. It is almost a safe bet that despite all the problems, all the talk in South Africa, the report will be short and evasive.

The other question is what can the board do about it? It can, if it feels so inclined, change the captain. That, however, regardless of the report, is also unlikely.

The reason? Among other things, the agreement which brought the London strike to an end said there should be no form of disciplinary action or recrimination by the board against any player in the squad at any time in the future.

If Lara is removed as captain - as he should, if Hooper is dropped - as he should, the board would have a difficult time convincing its detractors, or the players' lawyers that it had nothing to do with the strike.

That, however, should not matter. Apart from quality players, apart from a strong manager, West Indies cricket at this time needs a leader as committed to it as were Frank Worrell, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)