And the Readers Shoot Back...

Wed, Mar 26, '03

The issue of picking a West Indies captain for the home series against Australia and Sri Lanka sure touched a nerve with cricket fans around the Caribbean this week.

The batch of 'letters to the editor' is full of opinions on who should or shouln't be named captain and vociferous reactions to the recommendations that have appeared on our front page. Here is a sampling of the e-mails received this week...

Dear Ryan,

Your argument is seriously flawed. Hooper's contribution is nil. He never made runs, he has never shown a willingness to take risks, he has no idea about strategizing, he is not mentally tough, he does NOT imbue confidence in the team. In fact, when he gives away his wicket it demoralizes the team, gives an adrenalin boast to the opposition and serves as a bad example to the rest of the team.

Hooper has failed miserably. I am confident that worse cannot be done by anyone. Whoever takes over the captaincy I am confident will have more creativity, more skill and yes, more mental toughness. Carl Hooper personifies failure of the highest degree. If, and I am sure when, he retains the captaincy, May God Have Mercy on the West Indies.

Devon Winston

Dear Sir,

In Ryan Naraine's article on the West Indies captaincy, he gave all the reasons why Hooper should not be captain, then he went ahead and recommend him for the captaincy.

You must be crazy. Hooper's knees are bad, he is out of form as a batsman, so why pick a player for the team to carry. And you certaily cannot pick a player solely just to captain the team. What about Chanderpaul? Just because he doent say much does not mean he will not make a good captain. Afterall, he is skipper of Guyana.

Neville Sangster

Dear Editor,

Is there any way to replace those bungling fools who run the WICB? They need to be held accountable and I feel they think that the fans are all fools.

Why don't we boycott all the games? That is when they would realise what cricket means to us.

Ovid E. Griffith

Dear Sir,

Viv Richards, a great attacking batsman is a very defensive selector. Please look at his selections so far. Nixon Mclean who was obviously finished in regional or international cricket, was selected to the WC ahead of a Darren Powell or Tino Best. Also, the failure to include Lawson until the very last match when we had nothing to lose?

Please Viv return to your attacking ways.

Allan Wright

Mr Editor,

The captaincy issue is straightforward. Give it to Sarwan or Samuels, either one as vice-captain or captain. But, whoever they choose, one must be captain and the other vice-captain. I don't care which.

Richard Lord

Mr Editor,

It is a pity that we have reached this pathetic stage that Drakes has to be considered for captain. But we have to resolve some serious problems with the team. Hooper should never have been captain of the team. He should have been dropped 15 years ago because he has been a failure. I have said that the decline of West Indies cricket started with Hooper.

How he continued to command a place in the team all those years shows how poor the team was to depend on him. His turning his back on W.I cricket so many times should have been a basis black mark against him. The argument that Drakes is a one day cricketer who cannot perform in Test cricket is so ridiculous that one wonders if the person who made that remark really knows his cricket.

The only reason Drakes did not become a Test cricketer earlier was because of the stupid qualification rule. Drakes is the only true professional on the team and he shows it. Now that all the late day fans has seen his qualities, everyone is rushing behind him . But those qualities were seen not only by the South African provoincial authorities but at least three county teams in England.

If the guy was not worth his play why would they have requested his services. It is only the insular West Indian fans who want to dissect him and cut him to pieces and find all types of faults.

As far as the captaincy is concerned, Chanderpaul should be given the first choice. If he can't talk in front of the microphone, surely a quick course in public speaking would help. If he does not want it, then I think Drakes is the next choice. Since he may only have at the most three more years, Sarwan should be made the vice captain and immediately plans should be made to get him ready for the captaincy. He is our best player for the future.

As far as the balance of the team is concerned there are a lot of prima donnas on the team who need to be shaken up. There is some talent on the outside looking in and we should have a good look at Devon Smith, Tino Best and Baugh.

Selectors in the past used to make inspiring decisions that came off. Remember Ramadhin, Valentine, Hall, Sobers and even Chanderpaul. I hope the present selectors put on their thinking caps and drop some of the present pretenders.

Darrell Henderson Asgill

Mr Editor,

I am not writing a full opinion piece but I just wanted to commend you on the article about the West Indies captain and run Chanderpaul's name by you as a future captain. He is young but he is a veteran and no one would doubt his composure and solid mental approach to the game. Grooming Sarwan now as a vice captain would be of great benefit for the long term.

Jeffrey Francis