West Indies Cricket Fans

“Embarrassed, clueless, confused and annihilated – West Indies cricket is at its lowest ebb ever!”
March 27, 2011
Colin E. H. Croft
“Whuh de hell wrang wid dem fellows in de West Indies team? Dah is de best dem can do?” Last week was a very poisonous week for West Indies cricket supporters everywhere, so I do not know if, as a child, as a parent, or even if you do not have children, you will have experienced anything like the following:
Your parents, or you, as a parent, were so blue; angry; with similar crescendos of voice, that you forgot the children’s names – “Hey, Sonny, Robin, Michael – Ah, who de hell is yuh again? Whuh is yuh damn name, boy? Look! I so damn vex! Look! Boy, whuh is yuh blasted name? Look! I culd kill yuh! Look!”
That anger surfaced universally last Wednesday, when West Indies was annihilated by a wonderfully fluid Pakistan. To suggest that the game was a no-contest would be to acknowledge that it was ever a contest in the first place. It was not. Pakistan, for want of a better expression, played against itself!
“Hey Kraff, tell dem effing West Indies fellas dat dem really suck!” Similar utterances have greeted me for the last several days as it has never been previously, even when we had been bowled out, often, for bingo scores in the past. The expectations and hopes for this World Cup were, unfortunately, unreal!
Many have cursed me daily, wherever they see me, as to why our international team is so poor; pilloried with extreme abuse. It is also difficult to try to even convince and explain that I have no real input whatsoever, except to show the same displeasure that they have, but could also publish it too!
It was as if either I was still playing or, worse, they think I am the lone selector, that recurring thought, suggested ages ago. I still think that West Indies needs an honest, competent, selection supremo!
If you saw Denzil Washington, Spike Lee, Angela Bassett and Delroy Lindo in the classic, biopic ‘Malcolm X’, you would recall Denzil, as Malcolm, saying: “We (meaning Negroes) have been hoodwinked!” Similarly, we, as West Indians and West Indies supporters, have, again, been very seriously duped!
We have been conned by the spurious rhetoric of myopic head coach, Ottis Gibson, who, obviously, has only qualifications, but is infinitely unqualified to coach and manage a proper West Indies cricket team.
We have also been fully fooled by a captain, Daren Sammy, who through no fault of his, is out of place! We have been masterfully misled, even again, by West Indies Cricket Board, who promised much better!
Yes, this last week, the abuse has been especially viral. Yet, I do not blame the natives too much. That so many; millions even; stayed up, or got up, just to listen, or see, the crap that has become West Indies international cricket, at ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, was astonishing. No-one can convince me that support, and real hope, is no more. Our cricket, regional and international, is clueless and rudderless!
If you doubt me about our cricket, here are just a few questions to ponder. How many 4-day games in our regional 2011 competition have been completed in less than 3 days? Many!
How come England Lions, into the final round of regional cricket 2011, are points ahead of the rest of the Caribbean’s teams? This is only England’s “A” team! Our cricket is at its lowest ebb ever!
As if that was not enough, we now have Gibson suggesting that senior players did not pull their weight. Do you remember that old proverb that ‘a bad workman always quarrels with his tools’?
Remember that I said, earliery, that Gibson and Sammy were useless and not remotely suitable? I was wrong. Neither should have been considered at all. However, just expect that both will be retained!
This scenario reminds me of the head coaching tenures of West Indian Roger Harper and Australian Bennett King. I still think that they were, like so many people involved in West Indies cricket, way too scared to lose their job, to actually do it properly. I also continue to say that somehow, we in the Caribbean think that having certificates makes one qualified. Just do the job; devil take the hindmost!
I remember asking Harper, in Sri Lanka, 2001, for BBC World Service, when we were badly beaten; 3-0 in 3 Tests, despite Brian Lara’s brilliance; when he complained, ala Gibson, that ‘the players were not listening to me’, as to if he would quit, or why should he not be fired? I still have the tapes for that too!
I believed then, now, and always, that if a Coach, in any sport, complains that players were not adhering to his/her directives or wishes, then that Coach is ineffective. It is the Coach’s job to make players into what he/she wants them to be. American sports, and even soccer, club or country, easily confirm that!
Harper did not concur nor did he quit. Soon, he was fired; replaced, in time, by Bennett King, another square peg in a round hole! Gibson should also be fired. He is unable to fill that massive gaping crater! Appoint (Sir) Vivian Richards now, give him full freedom, and let us get on with rebuilding!
Honestly, present West Indies cricket is probably just a shade above being an outright Associate. Canada, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are just about our level now. Please do not insult Ireland, or even Holland, even though West Indies beat them. Ireland is so well tuned for the future, while West Indies cricket continues to suffer from complete, systemic failure; insularity and stupidity at its apex!
There have been calls for Sammy, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul, for starters, to be put out of their sufferings; dropped! For the latter three, permanent removal should be effected immediately. None of these three can bring anything more, or new, to the table!
Officially, there are 21 species of albatrosses world-wide. 19 species are almost extinct. Actually, I think there are 22 such species, including West Indies captain Sammy. The 22nd should become extinct now!
Unfortunately, Sammy has been, foolishly, appointed West Indies captain to the end of India’s tour in July. We are stuck with this stone, this albatross, around our necks, going further down, gasping for air! Help!
Not many enhanced their reputations in Asia. Devon Smith, surprisingly, and Kemar Roach, expectedly, did. Daren Bravo, Ravi Rampaul and Andre Russell are only just credible. They are still relatively young. The re-inclusion of Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin and Marlon Samuels will, at least, help!
It is certainly time for renewal, especially with the next ICC World Cup not until 2015, in Australia and New Zealand. West Indies cricket has four years, minimum, to reflect and review, then recharge. In reality, much more, as will be addressed in subsequent articles will also have to evolve.
Meanwhile, West Indies Cricket Board has its meeting this weekend in Antigua & Barbuda. Maybe they should all resign. Most of us cannot believe that this bunch, and its selectors, can continue this way. Unfortunately, nothing will change there. We will simply continue on, with this unending drivel! Enjoy!

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better article by Croftie, than the last one posted here. one can argue with his points which are clear enough, rather than have to deal wih his ego.

I dont agree that Gayle, Sarwan and Shive ought to be dropped just so. we need better players than they and we dont have them.

we must therefore give them a decent enough chance to demonstrate where deh are at actually, if they have some more to contribute. we ought to do that anyway for these players have been in their various ways, faithful servants to the westindian cause on the cricket fields of the world.

Crofties attitude is strictly westindian in the sense of his utter lack of charity and appreciation for our players..something he himself suffered from and was so offended by it, he decided it was justification enuff to forsake the westindian blac cause, and go take the racists gold kruggerands.

charity, as the lack of it, begins at home. and in the westindies we have for each other only the contempt and dismissal taught to us by our centuries-long 'education' at the hands of the slave master, the subsequent colonial authporities, and ultimately and currently, at the hands of our blac and brown lords and masters, the inheritors of the old slave and colonial power, our various pompus prime ministers, and the lesser presidents and chairmen/women down the line...like skunt Hunte at factory Road, in Wadadli!

croftie himself has proved over the years in the utterly abrasive attitude he demonstrates at all times to things westindian, that to us, as sandpaper is to rough wood, he is of the most corse quality. as such he is perfectly westindian, a perfect product of the westindian experience.

and in their own ways Hunte, Gibson and all of whom the wicb is now comprised of are as croftie in their variety, just as perfectly westindian. they have established at Factory Road a systemic control that is worthy of Orwellian ideal. it is a system that allows the insiders to select their type of corrupt henchman as president and have him elected unapposed at all times.

as such and in this way a most corrupt continuity is maintained that serves westindies cricket in a manner that has destroyed it from the inside out, completely, by ensuring only corrupt and incompetent people, serve westindies cricket as administrators, planners, executive officers etc.,

croftie is right in that it will continue unabated for there is no power save the people in revolutionary activity, even interested in westindies cricket as a winning factor in world sports.

all the westindian elite knows is that successful westindies cricket energises the westindian people, which energy if it gets out of hand could lead to social revolution, which would mean the end of their domination of westindian society

Excellent post Maps... I like your line of thinking here..

why are people picking on Shiv?

Has he not been one of the most disciplined players in the WI team for the last 20 years? So what if he has gotten into a bad patch? Given such a track record of sturdy performances over the years, don't you think he will overcome? I think so!

The man started the WC on a bad patch ad instead of playing him to to give the opportunites to spend time at the crease, the geniuses decided to rest him!!!! And even then, he batted thru the inning in last match.

So why are they calling to drop him? It surely can't be his attitude or lack of discipline!

There is a plan to phase out the top players, so they can dummy-dung the side so Sammy looks like a permanent fixture.

Before you can replace players you have to have better replacements. Who are the better replacements?

Croft bowled them some good beanmers here...