The Caribbean community’s desire to have West Indies cricket return to its previous glory is not unrealistic, but administrators of the popular sport must first take responsibility for their numerous shortcomings and ultimate failings, says legendary batsman Brian Charles Lara.
In his view, only then can they implement the requisite systems to develop structures that would enhance the team’s performance and reclaim the respect previously held.
“It’s a difficult proposition for anybody to lead the West Indies team, especially with the administration how divided they are on occasions, the lobbying when trying to pick a board and many different things. It is an unreal situation for any young man to handle, especially during a bad time,” Lara said.
He made the remarks while speaking on the topic Taking Charge at The Guardian Sport Desk’s four-day symposium presently taking place at the Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre in St Ann’s, Port-of-Spain.
“We take good talent in the West Indies and make it ordinary, while people abroad take ordinary talent and make it good. I still believe we have the best young cricketers in the world. Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s cricket was a skill game. Skill and fitness was very important towards performance and the West Indies cricketers were the most skilful team and the fittest, and they went around the world beating people,” he said.
The former captain added: “I think in the 90s technology took over and we laid no foundation as administrators to ensure that we moved with the time. We always thought a next ‘Sir Viv’ was around the corner; a Joel Garner was going to pop up. Yes! They did! But people learnt about West Indies cricket. People went back home, did studies and worked on us. That is when the decline started…the fact that we relied on natural talent and not advancing our game, not creating an infrastructure for grass-root cricket; not doing anything technology-wise to ensure that we are up there with the very best.”
He reflected on his tenure as captain of the Windies and declared to an audience of 300 teenagers that it was one of his most difficult assignments and when googling his name, the statistics would show that he was not a very good captain.
Lara was convinced that had the West Indies Cricket Board of Control developed systems that related to proper succession planning, talent recruitment and the enhancement of techniques the tremendous success enjoyed in the 60s, 70s and 80s might have remained unchallenged.
“When I entered West Indies cricket, we weren’t beating teams as convincingly as we were in the past. If you are accustomed beating England five-nil, all of a sudden you are drawing two all. Then, there is some kind of decline. I would not have been the first captain to have faced any insularity in the Caribbean. From that point in time (the 90s) you could feel the tension within the team at every port. It’s a very difficult thing when you are not successful,” he said.
Lara continued, “I know we are on a five- or six-match win against some pretty ordinary teams, but hopefully in the future we will have some people, good thinkers, forward thinkers who would do things to ensure that we harness the talent.”
He cited Adrian Barath’s rise and the fact that he scored a Test century on his debut, not just against any team, but against the best in the world, Australia, on that continent.
“Today, he is not even plying his trade with the national team anymore. Why? Are we going to blame Adrian Barath alone or was it something that was not put into place to ensure that such a wonderful star could be maintained?
“There are a lot more leagues going on around the world and people are paying less attention to what is going on in West Indies cricket. The guys are a lot more professional. Chris Gayle is playing all over the world, so is Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. I believe that when they come together there is less tension. Nobody is worried about making a dollar or where their career is going because there are a lot more options,” said Lara.