Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 06/Aug 06:04

WI England tour wipe-out – here’s why

FOR any West Indian cricketer who has played cricket in England, his experience would have informed him of the various adjustments he would have to make to his game in order to be consistent in his performance. However, the WI team that visited England this year was an inexperienced one, and the itinerary was to their great disadvantage. They were given one first-class game against a county select XI, identified as a warm-up game. After this excuse for a game, do they expect WI to be prepared for a three-Test tournament in England? Of all places? I suppose Cricket West Indies had to accept whatever was handed out, because of our standing in World Cricket, being last on the table at present. Playing in England is completely foreign to all touring teams to that country. The fundamental rationale behind this logic has to do with the climate. This is completely at variance with that of the West Indies; hence the Caribbean player has to make certain vital adjustments to his approach in his batting and bowling. Then there’s the weather, which is rather colder, and fielding conditions unlike what one may find at home. The essential point is that a visiting team needs a string of first-class games to adjust to these variable conditions. Be that as it may, the MCC set up the visiting cricketers knowing that they would be susceptible to playing cricket on seaming pitches, wearing wickets, some with variable bounce, others turning and the whole lot of disparate surfaces on which the game of cricket is played in England. In other words, WI never had a chance! They were too inexperienced, including the coach. I’ve read through interviews with Andre Coley, WI’s Test match coach, yet at no time did I hear practice mentioned. Batsmen like Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, just to name two of recent vintage, practised incessantly and no coach, captain, or anyone else had to tell them to do so. Now, they’re so well organised that all players seem to be waiting for someone to plan the practice sessions before they get moving. [caption id="attachment_1100723" align="alignnone" width="1024"] -[/caption] In the past, WI teams that were scheduled to tour England had at least a month of three-day matches against the counties before they played the first Test match. Then, in between Tests, they would have another one or two games. But that has all ended now. There are many reasons for that, and the main one is always finance, because that is the engine that helped the counties in their drive to profitability. However, the crowds in England at present are only attracted to Tests and white-ball cricket. All the more reason why the WI team needs to practise more, leading up to a tour of England. One warm-up first-class game is not going to do the job of preparation. CWI has to have a long look at the situation and institute a plan for their Test tour visits by installing a comprehensive programme to achieve the players’ maximum capacity, including: cricket games, net practice, match-playing rehearsals, intense batting and bowling sessions, ground fielding and slip- and boundary-catching. WI also continually revealed their inferiority by repeating how successful they were in Australia, when they came back fighting in the second of a two-Test series and won a remarkable game through an excellent bowling spell by Shamar Joseph, the Guyanese fast bowler on his first tour. Of course, it was a fine victory. Nonetheless, it was played on the opposite side of the world, a place referred to as down under, in far-off Australia, under completely contrasting conditions. That victory, as rewarding as it was, had nothing to do with the present tour of England, a series to be played against a dissimilar opposition, in another country, under more challenging conditions. When the captain and players kept referring to that one win, also, because it was the first in Australia in 27 years, it came over to the public that the team was acting like losers, meaning those unaccustomed to winning. True as that might be, it is not something one does to prepare for a new series against another opponent. It comes over as being needy. Test cricket is an international game where the participants always have to be self-assured to meet any opponent with the self-confidence that one’s team is going to emerge the winners. The WI were outplayed by their shortage of experience and lack of coaching guidance.   The post WI England tour wipe-out – here’s why appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.