Bat and ball 
/ Frank Gregan / 02 May 2011 / Leave a Comment World-beater and nightmare to have to manage, we give you the inimitable Chris Gayle
"Mr Hilaire is of course correct but the trouble is, they've been trying to make it work that way for the last 15 years. They been indulging the players to the detriment of West Indian cricket. If they are going to sort it out they have to bite the bullet and accept it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. "
The West Indian Cricket Board has decided that enough is enough and that the likes of maverick trio Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan are no longer part of their short-term plans. But how did it get this bad to start with, asks Frank Gregan.
Jack the Lads, the loveable rogues that push the boundaries and test the patience of sporting coaches and authority are time and time again given the benefit of the doubt. Mainly because they are special athletes, but also because we all admire their cockiness.
I've heard some incredible excuses in dressing rooms throughout the years. It's no good using these excuses in a one-to-one interview, they have to be witnessed by team-mates. A footballer I was once working with didn't want to travel to an away game with the squad whilst suspended and argued without a shred of embarrassment that he couldn't fly on an internal UK flight because he couldn't provide photographic ID.
"My driving licence is the old paper one, no photo." he told the Boss.
"So what about your passport?" was the logical reply.
Quick as a flash and without a shred of embarrassment he produced a riposte even an eleven year schoolkid would have considered pathetic and inadequate, "The dog ate my passport!" It might have been a great laugh and it certainly lightened the mood in the dressing room but it was a line in the sand.
The coach could either stand his ground and rule authoritatively or he could choose the easy route and avoid a confrontation by giving the player the weekend off. He chose the latter and once again, Jack the Lad had been indulged and the boundaries pushed but much more importantly, a case of 'one rule for one and one rule for others' had been applied.
It seems that the West Indian Cricket Board who have been indulging their better players for ages have finally reached the end of their tether with their Jack the Lads. Chris Gayle is an exceptional talent and he has proven, particularly in the shorter versions of the game, that he can single-handedly win matches. But diplomacy and respect for authority have never been Gayle's strong suit and and he gives the impression that he can 'take it or leave it' as far as playing for the West Indies is concerned.
Gayle and two other former skippers, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwen, may just have met their match in WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire, who seems to be ready to lock horns with the big names and the strong characters. Hilaire has let the West Indian supporters know the reasons why he thinks it's necessary.
"If you look at West Indies cricket since the mid 1990s a lot of the systems we had in place broke down. There's no discipline. There's no application. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar that he can decide if he is training today, if he is having treatment tomorrow, if he is going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way."
Mr Hilaire is of course correct but the trouble is, they've been trying to make it work that way for the last 15 years. They been indulging the players to the detriment of West Indian cricket. If they are going to sort it out they have to bite the bullet and accept it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
The role models of the new generation of West Indian cricketers have been thumbing their noses at authority for years, leading the current crop to believe it's the norm. Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan's boots might take some filling but for the sake of West Indian cricket they need to be filled by players who put the team before themselves.
Chris Gayle showed the WICB what they were missing when he scored a superb ton on his return to the IPL with the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Gayle and his team-mates sit on the fringes of the top four in the IPL and are a tempting [7.0] to lift the trophy. As far as Ernest Hilaire and his board are concerned, Gayle's absence is a case of short term pain for long term gain. Let's hope the pain doesn't last another 15 years!
Three and a half years on from the Bradman v Tendulkar debate, Paul Moon lists the latest achievements and milestones of Sachin Tendulkar, a player who will never be equalled....
The Sri Lankan players who are scheduled to tour England have been told they need to leave their IPL teams behind sooner than they thought. Is this to prepare better for English conditions or is there something more sinister, asks...
There's been a glut of retirements following the end of the World Cup - some understandable, some not so in the eyes of Frank Gregan. But when young players start snubbing their national sides, it's time to ask, what's going...
No comments:
Post a Comment