Clutching at Straws
Tue, Apr 3, '07
By now every member of the West Indies World Cup squad is aware that cricket fans in the Caribbean are not only disgusted with their recent performance against Sri Lanka, but that they have also given up hopes of them advancing to the World Cup semi-finals.In fact, the warning signals that something was desperately and depressingly wrong with the team had started going up after their rather tame performance against New Zealand, which itself came after a thumping defeat at the hands of the Australians
With only two points brought forward from their win against Ireland in the preliminary round, and needing to make the top four to advance, West Indies are sixth among the eight teams, and at the time of writing this article, they have played more games than all the others.
"We've got to pick up and fight because you never know what can happen," captain Brian Lara was quoted as saying after the loss to Sri Lanka. "We're going to have a couple of days off and re-assess the situation. We have to be sure we are fresh for the last three matches,” he added.
Lara also said they have been hurt by the hectic schedule in the past week-and-a-half, leaving the side jaded. "It was tough, we've had four games in 10 days and you could feel some of the guys were a bit flat in the outfield."
Lara even claimed that the "intense period of matches" had affected his main pace bowler, Daren Powell, saying, "he seems to have dropped about 10 kilometres in the last few days."
Now, if Lara was trying to defend the lack of desire to win on the part of some of the senior players, which he should not be doing anyway, he has not done a very good job.
Since when four games in 10 days is something new in international cricket? If some members of the West Indies team cannot play four one-day games in 10 days, albeit they had to travel, then maybe they should not be playing cricket at this level.
Were Lara's men not fresh because of the scheduling of the West Indies games? Or were they exhausted because some team members were seen drinking pretty late in bars in Antigua and Guyana the nights before they played?
"I know everyone’s disappointed in the dressing room and in the Caribbean but we’ve still got a job to do," Lara said.
That job basically boils down to West Indies beating South Africa, Bangladesh and England, as well as depending on some favourable results in the other matches, if there is to be any hope of them squeezing through to the semi-finals.
It is a hope that Lara is desperately clinging on to. "I am an eternal optimist," he said.
But that optimism alone is not enough to convince the fans who turned out in full to watch them play Sri Lanka in Guyana and the thousands whose eye balls were glued to their television sets.
In fact, the way they played against Sri Lanka was enough to change the minds of even the most optimistic of West Indian supporters, even prompting calls from Michael Holding for Lara to quit as captain, and a comment by Colin Croft that the West Indies do not have anything special about them now.
Lara's captaincy is certainly not special, but bashing him is unfair when there are bigger problems in the team.
Indeed, not at least trying Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels in games when runs were being scored freely, and then using the medium pacer with the new ball in another, sounds like a confused captain.
But to blame Lara for the West Indies no-show is pointless, just as it was to fault Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper, Jimmy Adams and the rest who preceded his third dispensation.
Chris Gayle has been clueless in this tournament, certainly against Lasith Malinga. Marlon Samuels has flattered to deceived, yet again. Smith continues to be what he has always been -- a major embarrassment, as there’s probably no other way to describe him now. Ramnaresh Sarwan certainly needs to show more responsibility and go on after getting good starts.
Whether Lara bats at four or five is irrelevant, as he is inevitably coming in under pressure. Maybe he should consider opening the batting again.
Surely, Kieron Pollard cannot possibly do worse than Smith. And why Gayle continues to be so highly overrated is anyone's guess.
But whether the elongated meeting the team was reported to have had after the Sri Lanka debacle addressed these issues is still to be known.
What is known though is that the West Indies skipper seems to be clutching at straws with the hope off reaching the semi-final stages.
Sadly, however, most of his teammates don't seem to care.