Three features have been prominent in West Indian cricket in
recent years, all of which have contributed to heavy and regular
defeats. The first feature being the inability of the top order to
forge partnerships, the second being bowling without a plan and the
third being dropped catches.
Within an hour's play on the second morning of the Calcutta test,
the second and third factors just mentioned resulted in the West
Indies all but relinquishing any advantage they might have held the
previous day after restricting India to 275/6 on a good batting
pitch.
Now that we have attended to the
developing of our 'infant' cricketers, focus should be directed
towards establishing and maintaining a uniform system of coaching
in the region. The coaches of our future test players should be
working off the same page, setting the same goals all from the same
manual. The training or certification of coaches in foreign
facilities, follows criteria tailor-made for the success of cricket
in that nation or region.
Former West Indies leg-spinner and new president of the West
Indies Players Association (WIPA) Dinanath Ramnarine has scoffed at
suggestions of a pay-per-performance salary structure for the
region's cricketers.
In a wide-ranging &A interview with the Trinidad Express
newspaper, Ramnarine defended the performance of the players in
recent years, saying: "Regardless of what people may think, cricket
is a sport that demands significant amounts of time and commitment
of its players yet it is by far the lowest income earning sport.
WIPA feels that players should be compensated for this accordingly.
Having said this, WIPA also believes that performance should be
encouraged and rewarded and this may be done in the form of
incentives."
Below is the full text of the interview conducted by Garth
Wattley...
West Indies opener Wavel Hinds said his hundred at the Eden
Gardens in the third Test against India was the best of his three
centuries as the team had to salvage some pride after having
already lost the series 2-0.
Speaking with reporters after scoring exactly 100 on the second
day,, Hinds said, "I got an opportunity to open and hopefully I
have grabbed it with both hands. "I am enjoying my stint at the
top.
Police in Delhi, India has unearthed a cricket betting racket
with national and international ramifications on the first day of
the India-West Indies test match and arrested nine persons from
Delhi and Gurgaon.
"The premises, where the accused were nabbed was full of
sophisticated electronic equipments like lap-top, desktop computer,
television, landline and cell phones, recorders apart from hand
written registers, copies and documents confirming a betting racket
having national and international ramifications", Deputy
Commissioner of Police (West) Deependra Pathak told reporters.
