West Indies must use the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh as a springboard for future success, says All Out Cricket columnist Rohan Kallicharan.
“This is a contest that they simply cannot afford to lose” – one of the more frequently used sporting clichés of the modern cricketing scribe. However, it is often true, and never more so than for the West Indies in their ongoing tour of Bangladesh.
Some would claim that it is a Test series Darren Sammy’s side cannot win and can only lose. If they win, well, it’s only Bangladesh, and should they lose it will be the nadir of the seemingly endless decline of West Indian cricket. That said, every recovery has to start somewhere and it should be remembered that the West Indies went six years between 1967 and 1973 without winning a series. That side never plunged the depths of the current team and players of the class of Lloyd, Kallicharan, Rowe and Roberts established themselves as world-class players in that period, setting the path for the golden period over the next two decades, but a win over the Tigers on their home patch would at least represent a step in the right direction.
It is 16 years since Australia defeated the West Indies in the Caribbean and dethroned them at the top of the world rankings. Despite the longevity of Walsh and Ambrose, the record-breaking feats of Brian Lara, the endurance of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the explosive talent of Chris Gayle, since that time they have stumbled from one disaster to the next as a once proud region has been brought to its knees.
This is a question that has continued to puzzle cricketing pundits and exasperate West Indian supporters. How could a team with so much talent so frequently be humbled and embarrassed? Theories have abounded and the WICB has gone through more coaches than a National Express depot, not to mention advisors, psychologists and doctors. They still haven’t found the formula and the gap between the West Indies and the world’s best has continued to widen.
This has been exacerbated by the age-old concern of politics. It’s so easy to forget and to underestimate the fact that this is not a group of counties or provinces brought together – which is in itself by no means easy – but a group of countries each with their own identity, heritage, currency… and agenda.
I have never shied away from criticising players who have represented the West Indies in recent times. Too often they have underperformed, and quite frankly brought shame on themselves, their individual nations and the Caribbean collectively. More pointedly, they have often given the impression that they don’t care and demonstrated a lack of desire and maturity.
Marlon Samuels typifies this more than most, a series of reckless decisions costing him his wicket, before nearly costing him his career. It can only be hoped – and the signs are positive given his matchwinning innings in the second ODI in Mirpur – that his ban for ‘discussions’ with bookmakers has made him a more determined and considered individual. His performances for Jamaica and the West Indies bode well, but he must do it on a consistent basis.
Lendl Simmons – who has performed strongly in a three-match ODI series which saw West Indies take a decisive 2-0 lead before being humiliated in the final match of the series in Chittagong – has not had his temperament called into question so much as his technique. He is a natural and stylish athlete, but even a graceful poise at the crease could not negate the flaw he had developed of playing across his front pad. This seems to have been rectified; it should have happened much sooner, but the fact that it has is a credit to him and the coaching staff around him.
Like Samuels, Simmons has a long way to go before he is the finished article, but both of these men have the natural ability to play a significant role in any rebuilding process for the West Indies. Simmons, 26, and Samuels, 30, are now elder statesmen of the side and must take on that responsibility. And, with the youthful talent of Darren Bravo and Adrian Barath added into the mix, the West Indies could now have the beginnings of a recipe for making big first innings scores and imposing themselves on Test matches, as opposed to constantly having to play catch-up.
Bangladesh have been increasingly proficient at home, but this is a Test series that the West Indies can and must win. There is no need to look any further ahead at this time. India in November will wait for now.
West Indies Face A Battle They Can’t Afford To Lose
West Indies must use the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh as a springboard for future success, says All Out Cricket columnist Rohan Kallicharan.
“This is a contest that they simply cannot afford to lose” – one of the more frequently used sporting clichés of the modern cricketing scribe. However, it is often true, and never more so than for the West Indies in their ongoing tour of Bangladesh.
Some would claim that it is a Test series Darren Sammy’s side cannot win and can only lose. If they win, well, it’s only Bangladesh, and should they lose it will be the nadir of the seemingly endless decline of West Indian cricket. That said, every recovery has to start somewhere and it should be remembered that the West Indies went six years between 1967 and 1973 without winning a series. That side never plunged the depths of the current team and players of the class of Lloyd, Kallicharan, Rowe and Roberts established themselves as world-class players in that period, setting the path for the golden period over the next two decades, but a win over the Tigers on their home patch would at least represent a step in the right direction.
It is 16 years since Australia defeated the West Indies in the Caribbean and dethroned them at the top of the world rankings. Despite the longevity of Walsh and Ambrose, the record-breaking feats of Brian Lara, the endurance of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the explosive talent of Chris Gayle, since that time they have stumbled from one disaster to the next as a once proud region has been brought to its knees.
This is a question that has continued to puzzle cricketing pundits and exasperate West Indian supporters. How could a team with so much talent so frequently be humbled and embarrassed? Theories have abounded and the WICB has gone through more coaches than a National Express depot, not to mention advisors, psychologists and doctors. They still haven’t found the formula and the gap between the West Indies and the world’s best has continued to widen.
This has been exacerbated by the age-old concern of politics. It’s so easy to forget and to underestimate the fact that this is not a group of counties or provinces brought together – which is in itself by no means easy – but a group of countries each with their own identity, heritage, currency… and agenda.
I have never shied away from criticising players who have represented the West Indies in recent times. Too often they have underperformed, and quite frankly brought shame on themselves, their individual nations and the Caribbean collectively. More pointedly, they have often given the impression that they don’t care and demonstrated a lack of desire and maturity.
Marlon Samuels typifies this more than most, a series of reckless decisions costing him his wicket, before nearly costing him his career. It can only be hoped – and the signs are positive given his matchwinning innings in the second ODI in Mirpur – that his ban for ‘discussions’ with bookmakers has made him a more determined and considered individual. His performances for Jamaica and the West Indies bode well, but he must do it on a consistent basis.
Lendl Simmons – who has performed strongly in a three-match ODI series which saw West Indies take a decisive 2-0 lead before being humiliated in the final match of the series in Chittagong – has not had his temperament called into question so much as his technique. He is a natural and stylish athlete, but even a graceful poise at the crease could not negate the flaw he had developed of playing across his front pad. This seems to have been rectified; it should have happened much sooner, but the fact that it has is a credit to him and the coaching staff around him.
Like Samuels, Simmons has a long way to go before he is the finished article, but both of these men have the natural ability to play a significant role in any rebuilding process for the West Indies. Simmons, 26, and Samuels, 30, are now elder statesmen of the side and must take on that responsibility. And, with the youthful talent of Darren Bravo and Adrian Barath added into the mix, the West Indies could now have the beginnings of a recipe for making big first innings scores and imposing themselves on Test matches, as opposed to constantly having to play catch-up.
Bangladesh have been increasingly proficient at home, but this is a Test series that the West Indies can and must win. There is no need to look any further ahead at this time. India in November will wait for now.