WI cricket - leadership without credibility

Fri, Apr 13, '07

 

by SHAM SAMAROO

The music of "Force Ripe," the number one sound system in Guyana, could not soothe the pain of another hopeless, uninspiring, spiritless, and shamefully disappointing performance by the West Indies against Sri Lanka. With the loss to South Africa last Tuesday, their fourth consecutive of the Super Eight, West Indies have all but been eliminated from the semifinals.

So what is this malaise that seems to paralyze West Indies cricket? Mind you, this is not about West Indies losing, but rather the manner in which they have played time and again. Let's face it; there are teams in this tournament that are no more talented than the West Indians yet have demonstrated a collective resolve and a self belief that are so often missing from the West Indies game.

Commitment and a sense of purpose is a first step in any attempt to turn around the fortunes of a team. So how does one achieve this? The Chinese sage, Confucius, tells us that as the wind blows so the grass bends, or, as we are wont to say in the Caribbean, a fish rots from the head. There is a crisis in the leadership of West Indies cricket in the persons of Ken Gordon and Brian Lara. Effective leadership is all about credibility. Commitment cannot be mandated, only inspired, and one cannot inspire a collective resolve without the moral authority to lead. Successful leaders attend to a broader moral purpose.

At its core, moral purpose is about relationships among people, and moral purpose comes alive through leadership actions that inspire, motivate, and energize people. Repeated calls from Captain Lara for players to lift their game continue to echo with a hollow resonance because Lara lacks the moral authority to lead. Talk of Lara's knowledge, talent, and experience simply misses the point. No one is questioning Lara's ability but, rather, the lack of credibility.

This is Lara's third unsuccessful stint as captain, and Lara has stated that he intends to play test cricket beyond the age of 40. When asked at the press conference in Guyana whether that meant that he intended to stay on as Captain, Lara was visibly irritated and declined to answer the question. If Lara truly cares about the future of West Indies cricket, and there is no reason to believe that he does not, then he would step down.

Off the field, the Gordon-led WICB was supposed to bring greater transparency to the regional game. Instead, allegations of disingenuousness, unilateral decision-making and premature announcements all point to a flagrant abuse of the office of the presidency. One of the shortcomings of the WICB over the years was its abject failure to recognize and to honour our past heroes. The opening ceremony of the World Cup provided the Gordon team with a once in a life-time opportunity to right this egregious wrong - a window of opportunity to showcase the rich and glorious legacy of West Indies cricket to the eyes of the world. Surely 15 minutes of an almost three hour ceremony could have been dedicated to the proud legacy of West Indies cricket - a legacy mind you - that was instrumental in the conferring of this privilege to host the Cup.

In 2003, I had the distinct honour to interview Sir Everton Weekes in New York, and he shared with me a cherished hope that he would be alive in 2007 to witness this monumental event. It is to the Board's collective shame that this colossal icon of West Indies cricket was not even afforded the recognition of an invitation.

What a testimony to the proud history of West Indies cricket would it have been to introduce Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Vivian Richards, and Sir Garfield Sobers; and, perhaps, acknowledge the late Sir Learie Constantine, Sir Frank Worrell, and Sir Clyde Walcott - all of whom have achieved the highest accolade the game can bestow? Every player that evening, from Muralitharan to Ponting, wishes for one game in their careers when they may be likened to Sir Gary Sobers - the greatest player ever to grace the game.

It is, therefore, frighteningly ironic that these disorganizers could have only spared the great man one sentence - something about declaring the World Cup open. Perhaps, they were too preoccupied with surrendering broadcast rights, and agreeing to ridiculous stadium rules and outrageous ticket prices that saw most games being played with half-full stadiums bereft of that carnival atmosphere that has become so much a part of West Indies cricket.

Of course, expect Ken Gordon and his apologists to try defending this indecency. In fact, Gordon has already begun.