Leadership, Race and Ronnie Sarwan
Sat, Oct 25, '03
Ramnaresh Sarwan, the most talented young international cricketer that Guyana has produced in recent years, has been faced with two controversial episodes that could have lasting imprints on his growth and development in general and his professional cricketing career in particular. These episodes are the appointment of Shiv Chandrepaul as captain of the Guyana cricket team, and the furor over his option to disassociate himself from participating in the all-Indian cricket match in Guyana.
On the basis of an abundance of Guyanese experiences in playing and administrating the game through out Guyana and some amount of practical experiences in the management of man in a variety of human endeavors within the cultural frame work of Guyana and the CARICOM region, I am motivated to share my thoughts on the subject.
The first of these episodes in which Shiv Chanderpaul was appointed the Guyana cricket team captain ahead of Sarwan was an unfortunate error of judgment by the cricketing powers of Guyana. At this particular period in the evolution of West Indies cricket, this act of imprudence has the potential to constrain the development of the game in the region and to create unhealthy fiction between two of Guyana and West Indies young and most exciting talented cricketers. They are both critical ingredients in the region's cricketing labor force, which among the many stake holders, is the real producers of the game of cricket and the wealth it generates.
To divide and rule the labor force in order to own and control the production and distribution of the wealth of the game will inevitably destroy not only the laborers of the game but also the product (West Indies Cricket) itself.
An appalling aspect of this episode is that, from reports, it appears that the decision was unanimous as the three selectors and the entire executive of the G.C.B. all had 'consensus ad idem' on this issue. I do hope that the truth was different form these reports or else prudence had fled to brutish beasts and men have lost their reason.
Currently in the region there is a new and refreshing trend in which youths, full of energy and modern ideas, are being given a chance to lead as the fossils of yesteryear fade into the sunset to reflect on their deeds, both good and bad.
In Guyana, for example, the head of state is the youngest in the world . In keeping with this trend, The West Indies appointed the 23-year-old Sarwan as its Vice Captain. This is consistent with the happenings in the world of cricket where young captains are leading their nations. In the finals of the last World Cup, both Australia and India were led by captains who were appointed leaders in their 20's. Graeme Smith of South Africa is in the same age group. With the WICB's decision, Sarwan needed the support, encouragement, recommendation and exposure of all those who are acquainted with his ability both on the field of play as well as beyond the boundary.
This support was needed especially from those in his native land who over the years nurtured his cricketing and leadership skills and who when the decision was announced gloried in the national pride which it created. Richards, Carew and Greenidge, all non natives of Guyana and very strong willed guys, identified in Sarwan the qualities which led them to appointment him the West Indies Vice Captain with "the future of West Indies cricket in mind".
Dinanath Ramnarine, a Trinidadian and president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), expressed pleasure at the appointment and committed his association to assist its member Sarwan with the grooming required for the position. Guyana has turned its back on Ronnie in his hour of need and at a very critical point in his career development. He was denied the experience he needs, in the practicals of cricket captaincy. This decision tells the world that we of Guyana considers the West Indies cricket administrators to have been wrong in appointing Sarwan instead of Chanderpaul as their Vice captain.
As the age of the "Industrial Revolution" gives way to the age of "Information" the national cricket captains of today have to possess skills beyond the boundary as well as skills on the playing field. Communication is a major requirement especially the ability to deal elegantly and gracefully with the news media. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown and while it is a joy to wear the crown, the task of balancing it on the head is not easy. It requires an assortment of tactics and strategies to deal appropriately with human nature and people from a variety of backgrounds.
Of the 5 "M"s of management -- man, machines, money, materials, and methods -- the management of man is the most difficult. It demands courage, physical strength, a sense of creativity and a passion for imagination. The young Sarwan has shown that he has the potential to develop these leadership skills which seems to have eluded Chanderpaul. The pressures of the task of leadership imposed upon him could be a serious burden on his other area of specialty and that could adversely affect his cricketing career.
CHANDERPAUL AND LEADERSHIP
Chanderpaul has done a remarkable job in his cricket development. I had the fortune of playing against him when he was a teenager playing for the GCC and I recognized his talent and predicted his rise to international fame as a batsmen. He has grown up into a wonderful young man who is very approachable, simple, humble, and quite knowledgeable of the cricket game. He is loyal and committed and one who is a greater follower of men than a leader of men. He has endured a lot and overcame many constraints - mainly injury - and has developed into one of the world's top batsman. I am not surprised about this for he has come a long way and must be commended.
However, the demands of being a captain of the West Indies cricket team is a burden that is going to be too much for Shiv who has the ability to show the world even greater feats in the area of batting without the burden of being a captain, which had amongst its fatalities, Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh, Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper and the former Brian Lara, all of whom buckled under the demands. Let's hope that Shiv is not led to the slaughter by his handlers. We must not forget that he made his test debut at Bourda in 1994 vs. England on the strength of his spin bowling - a leg break googly bowler. He was regarded by the West Indian selectors as a spinner who can bat rather than the reverse. He replaced Simmons who was the all-rounder batsman and medium-pace bowler.
I remember David Holford, the chairman of the selectors and Richie Richardson, the captain, discussing the spin potential of the test-match pitch with myself as the grounds sub-committee chairman for that Test and Harold Dhanraj, my assistant. Shiv even bowled about ten tidy overs of spin before lunch on the first day of that test- a privilege that is only reserved for a specialist spinner. However, to the relief of all those who knew his ability, Shiv, in that Test and the rest of the series, demonstrated his batting talent. Perhaps, today it would have been better if the cricket administrators of Guyana had pursued a path to resuscitate that bowling talent of Shiv rather than sending him to the slaughter on the path of captaincy.
As far as Sarwan's potential leadership skills are concerned, this young West Indian impresses me a great deal. Since his appearance on the International arena where he earned the praises of the likes of Ted Dexter and other knowledgeable English cricket pundits, his public utterances has been punctuated by a sensible and intelligent analysis of the issues on which he is making a pronouncement. Over the years, his public assessment of his strengths and weaknesses has been quite objective and incisive. He clearly knows where he wants to go, and what he has to do to achieve his goals. He has no problems in conveying by thoughts and words a worthy image of a colorful and robust young West Indian cricketer who is in tune with the needs for the future of the regional cricket.
When it comes to physical strength and mental courage, Sarwan excelled in displaying that at a relatively young age in the World Cup earlier this year. In the match against Sri Lanka, he was floored by a vicious bouncer, went off to hospital and returned and continued batting fearlessly with the same or even more belligerence than he exhibited before the injury. That courageous leadership nearly brought victory to his team. That performance was reminiscent of his country-men, who at a more matured age demonstrated such courage.
Alvin Kallicharran in 1975, in the helmetless days of the Lillie and Thompson blitz, in Australia, had his face smashed by a bouncer and continued to bat after being repaired. Then there was Leonard Baichan, who at Kensington Oval, was struck by a Garner bouncer on the head. He was taken off the ground in a very distressful state. Yet he returned to negotiate Garner later that afternoon. Once again with a damaged neck Baichan endured the likes of Imram Khan and Safraz Nawaz in a Pakistan test match to score an undefeated century and save the test for the West Indies. Sarwan, at the dawn of the twenty first century, and at a much tender age gave us a similar and even more courageous display of Guyanese batsmanship.
Ronnie's leadership capacity was displayed in an epic confrontation with the elderly and seasoned McGrath during the historic Test match in Antigua. Opting for the application of the conflict, rather than the consensual approach, in the resolution of social problems, Sarwan took action that ushered in a defining moment in the History of the Sledging Problem in international cricket. In that scenario Sarwan was being relentlessly abused by McGrath and no one came to his defense. The umpires, the Australian players and even his fellow batsman on the field did not intervene. There was no Brian Lara, who in an earlier test, rose to Devon Smith's defense when he was being sledged by the Australians, to come to his defense.
Ronnie -- man alone under attack -- opted to use, from a variety of techniques, a passionate and colorful one, which is commonly indulged in by the peasants and proletariat of his native land, to effectively communicate their feelings and relieve themselves, by graphically expressing their sentiments. So penetrative was that effort to repel his aggressor that the latter was totally shattered. This reflected a situation analogous to modern warfare in which an attacking scud missile was intercepted by a defensive patriot missile that caused the cricketing world to wake up and act. This youngster sent a loud and clear message that he was no Gentle Jesus meek and mild to be looked upon as a little child. His conflict approach to a very serious social problem in the game heightened the conscious of the world to the problem and has led to positive happenings.
Thanks to Sarwan's action in defense of his dignity, Gavaskar made the subject of sledging the topic for his presentation at the annual Colin Cowdrey lecture at the MCC. The ICC has since strengthened its rules of conduct and demanding greater enforcibility, and the Australians consciousness of their poor behavior in this area of the game has been heightened to the point where they were forced to acknowledge their misdeeds. In the Australian camp where sledging is rampant, there has now been implemented a rule carrying severe penalty for "using language or gestures that offend insult humiliate intimidate threaten disparage or vilify another person on the basis of that person's race religion color decent or national or ethnic origin, a player could be banned for between two and four first class matches and/or between four and eight one-day matches".
It was Sarwan's response to his attacker that precipitated such positive action. That's the stuff of which leadership is made.
JAHAJI PERSECUTION
The second recent challenge that faced Sarwan is the persecution being heaped on him for not playing in the Jahaji-organised cricket match after giving his commitment to the organizers who were in communication with him. Again the public utterances of this young man on that episode depict the soundness and intelligence of a mind that has the potential for modern leadership. He stated that when he gave his commitment he was not fully aware of the true nature of the event and its possible implications for his own values and to that of his career. On reflection he felt that he would do well to pass on this venture. In so doing Sarwan practiced the teachings of Lord Bertram Russell who advised that progress is impossible without changes and if a man cannot change his mind he is incapable of changing anything.
In a democratic culture the organizers of the event has a right to have an event which has great potential to titillate the emotional needs of their followers once it is done within the framework of the rule of law. In like manner, Sarwan had the democratic right to reflect on his involvement and change his mind and choose not to be involved. In so doing he is following the path of the Christ who, in his famous Sermon on the Mount, gave as one of his beatitudes, blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of God.
The game of cricket is not only an integral part of the Caribbean culture but has a great capacity to unite people. The West Indies is the only international cricket team that is not made up of one nation. It is made up of a set of colorful nations and those who cherish the game in the region should use it for purposes of unification. It is the duty of future leaders of the team that is made up of a set of Indians of the West, known as the West Indies to be aware of this, and act accordingly.
As the situation now stands, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and everyone involved in West Indies cricket should engage themselves in the process of damage control in dealing with this judgmental error of the Guyanese cricketing authorities.
Sarwan has to rise to the challenge imposed on him by those in his native land. In so doing it would be useful for him to be guided by History. He must be made aware that the wise men who roamed the world before him encountered similar experiences. One of those Sages said that prophets are honored everywhere save in their own countries. Once upon a time, his countryman Rohan Kanhai scored 50 odd runs at the Oval in a 1963 test match for the West Indies and the pavilion, with very few of his country men, gave him a standing ovation when he returned.
In 1966 I witnessed Kanhai at a Bourda test match making an exciting 89 against Bobby Simpson's Australians and when he was bowled by a Neil Hawke?s leg cutter, early on the second day of that test he was booed all the way back to the pavilion by his country men. He did not neglect to record his hurt at that experience in his book "Blasting for runs". Then in 1970's at the Rose Hall ground in Berbice -- the county in Guyana where he was born, he made a cameo 30 odd runs as captain of Guyana vs. the Combined Islands, in difficult batting conditions, involving the pace of Roberts and Phillips. In that innings I saw one of the most memorable 6's in my life -- a flick hook off the ribs from a Norbert Phillips lifter that sailed high over the pavilion forward of mid wicket. On his return to the pavilion his country men booed him since they felt his batting was insufficient. These denials by his own country men did not hinder Rohan who was honored elsewhere especially in Jamaica and India where quite a few cricket loving parents of that era named their cricketing sons Rohan in his honor.
RACE AND CRICKET IN GUYANA
Once upon a time in my school days, in Georgetown British Guiana, there was the East Indian Cricket Club (EICC), The Chinese Cricket Club, and the Portuguese Club. In those days, you had the Kawall Cup matches involving East Indians from Trinidad British Guiana and Surinam. Membership to these Clubs and participation in those cricket matches were restricted to the colour of the skin and not to the content of the mind or other human developmental skills. The Tony Xaviers, the Clyde Butts, the David Harpers the Charlie Pauls and the like could not have been members of The East Indian Cricket Club simply because the Almighty, in the great wisdom and glory of his grand estate, created them at their birth, with a particular hue.
There was a struggle in which Guyana replaced British Guiana and Everest replaced EICC. So that the Ethos of the national motto of Guyana - one people, one nation, one destiny - could be accommodated by the leading cricket institutions in Guyana. When the Vice Captain of the West Indies team chose not to be part of an all-Indian cricket game, he is moving in the direction of national unity rather than national discord and he must be respected for that. The advice given to Ronnie in the Stabroek News by Beverly Harper is sound. Keep on batting and scoring centuries and getting ha-tricks, and play your cricket with style and passion so that your full potential will be realized for history records that you can never keep a good man down.
If Sarwan finds that in his own country there is no opportunity to acquire the experiences, training in the area of cricket captaincy and leadership then he has to seek it overseas. After all the siblings of three of Guyana most powerful leaders, all Presidents of the country -- Cheddi, Janet and Forbes sought their educational development out of Guyana in order to enhance their welfare. History also records that Rohan Kanhai at a point in his early career played cricket for Trinidad against Guyana alongside Hall and Sobers.
Perhaps the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), which looks after the welfare of the laborers of cricket and which welcomed Sarwan's appointment, could come to his aid in his hour of need.
Finally it is hoped that the two talented Guyanese players will not yield to the machinations of divide-and-rule power play which could adversely affect their future. In unison they blend quite well to create the elegance, grace and excitement of West Indian calypso batsmanship at its best. Each in his own style and specialty has a lot to offer to the region cricket. May those responsible for guiding and leading them, do so, with care and prudence. Remember there are others around the region with captaincy material.
The administrative acrobatics of the cricketing authorities in Guyana could well deny Guyana from having its sixth West Indies captain.
* Mushtaq Khan is a cricket administrator. He is a former executive of the Guyana Cricket Board (of Control).
