Who is popular today?

By Bryan Davis
The personnel given the responsibility to choose the coaches of the West Indies teams have surprised me. I expect they were preferred over other contenders for reasons that escape me.
The five-person panel comprises the president of Cricket West Indies, Dr Kishore Shallow; director of cricket Jimmy Adams; director Enoch Lewis; independent director Debora Coryat-Patton; and HR manager Oneka Martin-Bird.
I stood in my shoes and I wondered. After I recovered, I realised that only two members of this panel, Adams and Lewis, had any experience of first-class cricket, either as a player or a coach. If the others did, I apologise for my lack of knowledge.
Apart from the two former cricketers, what exactly is the cricket pedigree of the others?
Perhaps this is what WI cricket needs, which can be attributed to reverse psychology: a majority of members in administration who have no practical experience of cricket, selecting cricket coaches who will be responsible for motivating players in order to create situations that build winning attitudes to eventual success.
Hence my belief is that Adams and Powell are the two who chose the coaches and the other three were to give the committee body.
Hear the president: “Sammy is not only familiar with the WI players but also the format. He knows the oppositions and the (white-ball) circuit well, so that was one of the factors that sort of convinced the panel that he is the man for the job at this time.”
What does familiarity with the WI players have to do with coaching? As a matter of fact, it could work against the team. An excellent coach can be a stranger to all the players, hold a meeting with them, then quietly have individual chats privately with all and get better results. Having no preconceived notions of the players could be to his advantage.
[caption id="attachment_1016296" align="alignnone" width="1024"] West Indies Test coach Andre Coley - CWI Media[/caption]
Is the president serious? Sammy’s familiar with the format – of course he is.
He knows the oppositions and the white-ball circuit well? Were there truly applicants that did not know the white-ball circuit well? I could not help wondering who the other applicants were.
Having vented my spleen on those selected to choose the panel that decided on the coaches, I must admit that I have nothing against Daren Sammy being selected as a coach. And in T20 cricket, especially the World Cup, he’s been successful… as a captain!
What troubles me is that a successful captain doesn’t always transition to an adequate coach. Hence the experienced interviewer would know this and especially the right questions to ask. The interviewer who doesn’t understand the rudiments of cricket, like the majority of the present panel, would be at a loss to know what qualifications a coach ought to possess.
May I remind the president that in 1998/99, when Brian Lara was captain and Malcolm Marshall was coach on tour to South Africa, WI lost all five Tests in the series and six ODIs of seven. They also lost six first-class matches of ten and drew the other four.
[caption id="attachment_1016295" align="alignnone" width="1024"] -[/caption]
Shallow also indicated that his administration will be holding people accountable, on the basis of their job descriptions, and is convinced that now is the time for the regional team to start winning.
He said; “We know we have match-winners in the team already. I don’t think that it is a case of us being at the developing stage any more. We are at a stage where we need to win international series and international events and the coaches have accepted that responsibility.
“It is just a matter of building. You are not going to dominate world cricket overnight, but we think we are at a stage where we can win more matches and series.”
Do Dr Shallow or any of his panel have any idea what is required to improve the status of the WI in world cricket? Does he believe, realistically, that by bringing in new coaches the team will automatically start winning more matches and series? Although thankfully, he admits that they’re not going to dominate world cricket overnight.
The team needs a psychological lift, fromthe coach, preferably. Every coach needs empathy with his players so that they build up faith in his knowledge and purpose.
West Indians always possessed an instinct for cricket. They learned to approach it professionally after Kerry Packer’s infraction in 1977, which taught them how to earn a worthwhile income by being winners.
After that lesson they conquered the world.
It’s not going to happen again.
 
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