Put Viv In Charge Now
Tue, Mar 23, '04
With Ricky Skerritt's surprise resignation, the WICB has been presented with a golden opportunity to bail water out of the sinking ship. The new manager must be a strong individual, someone willing and capable of handling difficult situations and with a proven track record of being able to deal with the pressure of managing the West Indies cricket team.
I cannot imagine who could be better than Sir Vivian Richards. It will take someone with his credibility, his strength, and most importantly his dedication to and unabashed love for West Indies cricket to make a difference in this job.
Under Skerritt, the manager's job was reduced to that of a backseat driver, someone who played a largely ineffective role behind the scenes and took little part in the active management of the team in terms of resolving disputes, making sure that players get what they need, and ensuring that everyone was doing their respective jobs.
One can be sure that Viv Richards will be no backseat driver.
Giving the dual role of team manager and chairman of selectors to"Smokin' Joe" makes sense on so many levels. As a cost saving measure, it handily solves the financial problem of sending the chairman of selectors overseas on tour. This may seem superfluous but the way in which players adapt to unfamiliar conditions and work together out of public scrutiny areimportant aspects of selection, and one which the WICB felt was important enough to warrant sending Richards to Africa. Selection is not something that should be done from thousands of miles away.
As a leader, Viv Richards stands head and shoulders above anyone else in regional cricket. This man has the strength to bind together a fractured squad of players and make them work as a unit. He can be relied upon to set high standards, and hold his charges to those standards. Not one for petty manipulation or boardroom politics, Richards is a man that will deal with people and problems directly.
Just as in the days when he swaggered out to face the first deliveries from a bowler, in his role as Chairman of Selectors Sir Viv has made his intentions and loyalties clear from the start. What some see as overreaching is in fact the commitment of a man who is straining to make a difference. Read the minutes of the cricket committee meetings and it is easy to see that he is not merely going through the motions but actually trying to accomplish something.
Having been made to grovel at the hands of England, and even worse, having been made to do so at home, it is long past time for strong action. No matter how many times we hit rock bottom it seems there is a bottom beneath that. Appointing a strong, competent, and dedicated leader to take over the management of the West Indies cricket team is a vital step in rebuilding our game.
Despite the West Indies Cricket Board's documented blunders and infighting, it is still a better and more effective entity than it was a decade ago. West Indies cricket fans must now hope that it is good enough and effective enough to appoint Vivian Richards to clean up Ricky Skerritt's mess.