Is Colin Croft for Real?
Sat, Apr 3, '04
(Trinidad Guardian)
I totally agree with Brian Lewis, assistant secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, who said that constructive criticism is absolutely necessary in any sphere of life, as no one individual has all the answers.
Lewis also said that what creates problems is destructive criticism. That brought to me my topic: Former West Indies pace bowler Colin Croft believes that Brian Lara should quit as captain of the current WI cricket team, following the side?s two big Test defeats.
It is not the first or second time that Lara ? on the verge of being undoubtedly the greatest-ever batsman in Windian history ? has come under pressure from cricket writers Tony Cozier, Tony Becca and Croft.
Following Lara?s scores of nought and eight in the Second Test in Port-of-Spain, Croft and Cozier called for Lara to throw in the towel.
But Lara has shown that he is no coward ? that he is prepared to live to fight another day, not for himself, but for West Indies cricket.
He has proven that he is no quitter and a proud West Indian, even in the face of defeat.
Lara ? the Prince of Port-of-Spain ? is still the world?s most dangerous batsman, and Croft and Cozier should know better since, like us, they have seen him break the back of the best bowlers who have attempted to challenge his batting prowess.
In spite of all of the above, Croft said on BBC Radio: ?Brian Lara should do the honourable thing now and fall on his sword.?
Croft also said: ?Lara should say ?look I have given up? ? like he did the first time ? and play as a batsman and that?s it.?
Croft also mentioned that Lara was censured for showing dissent towards the umpires, after they offered England the light on the third day of the Second Test.
The last person who should be criticising players for being censured by match officials is Croft.
You name it about inappropriate action on the cricket field and Croft has almost done it all, during a time when cricket was labelled ?The Gentlemen?s Game.?
I agree that Lara has not been enjoying a good series, but how can anyone blame him for the two losses? It seems that Croft wants Lara to make all the runs, bowl out the batsmen, and do all the fielding too. Are we really being fair to this guy?
The last time I checked, the team was named West Indies ? not Lara Indies.
Less than 24 hours after calling for Lara?s head, the same Croft picked Lara on his probable team to be captain for the Third Test. He did so while he was doing commentary during Saturday?s Carib International Challenge final.
On the final morning of the Second Test at the Oval, with England needing a little more than 20 runs for a comfortable victory, WI wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs dropped Mark Butcher and the following was Croft comment:
?It was a straightforward catch, but he made 70 yesterday and took a catch this morning, so that?s okay.?
Is Croft for real? I have come to the conclusion that Croft either suffers from amnesia or he does not mean what he says, or he cannot say what he means.
It is time that Croft and his criticising company leave Lara alone and start calling on the umpires to stop picking on the West Indies players.
In the First Test, the umpires turned the match. They played true to form in the Second Test and again Thursday they ?took? the first two West Indies wickets.
Two years ago, a radio commentator in Italy?s Serie A (Soccer League) criticised the coach of a team every time the club played, pretending to have all the answers. So the team?s management fired the coach and appointed the critic/commentator in the coach?s place. But after a dozen matches, with the critic/commentator turned coach failing to produce any improvement in the team?s performance, he was also fired.
So, like Brian Lewis, I want to support the call for Cozier as manager and Croft as coach of the current WI cricket team, if only because they always have all the answers to West Indies? cricket problems.
Hopefully, the two ?Big Cs? (Croft and Cozier) will be allowed the space necessary to do their jobs in an atmosphere of positivity from the other cricket journalists ? nothing like what they have showered upon the team.
Can Tony and Colin solve the problems of West Indies cricket?
I am sure they can. After all, they have all the answers to the questions which are befuddling the rest of the Caribbean community. If the two ?Big Cs? are in doubt, they can call in as their adviser, Englishman Geoff Boycott.
* This column first appeared in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper.
