Is Hooper Sidestepping Blame?

By now, everyone who has access to a television or any other means of communication would know that the West Indies lost the first Test match of their three-Test series with India by an innings and 112 runs last Saturday.

Ask yourself, were you really shocked by the loss or were you more surprised in the manner in which it happened?

One must admit that, from the first day, one had vivid memories of previous Test matches in recent history whereby the West Indies were routed by teams who had a stronger sense of determination and showed a willingness to fight even when conditions proved to conspire against them.

Look at what Australia did against Pakistan last week.

The West Indies team suffered from three major problems in their last match. In an overall poor team effort, the team was deficient in their batting, fielding and lack of support for their bowlers in trying conditions.

The pitch on which the match was played was perfect, with no undue terrors. The Indian spinners exploited batsmen who were unwilling to use their feet and therefore prospered. Fifteen wickets fell to the spinning duo of Anil Kumble and Harbajhan Singh. The batting was forced to follow on after a very dismal display in the first innings. The second innings was even worse.

From the heights of supremacy in the early 1980s, this team was dismissed for less than 200 runs in both innings.

The fielders showed no commitment in the field. They were generally not inclined to dive in the field as was evidenced by the number of balls which passed through the slip cordon on the ground. It appeared as though the team did not want to dirty their ?whites? on the turf. How often has one seen fielders allowing the ball to pass and then signalling with an arm raised for their team-mates to pick up. Other world teams show the commitment, why not the West Indies?

West Indians must realise that world teams now look forward to facing the West Indies team. Before, teams were restless and racked themselves to try and find ways to counter the West Indies team. Now, teams look forward to facing the West Indies and even enjoy the ?vacation? of coming to the West Indies; now they enjoy ?sun, sea and victory?.

We appear to have no obvious gameplan for opposing batsmen. It seems to be a wait and see ploy. We bowl a ball and wait and see if it gets us a wicket.

We also now enhance or make the careers of world batsmen. One remembers Matthew Sinclair of New Zealand and his rise to super stardom. He scored a double century in his first Test match against the West Indies and his major fault was his inability to handle the short ball. He received the short ball only after he had made 200. Australia then cruelly exposed this inadequacy and exploited it, which led to his omission from the team. Afterwards, Hamilton Masakadsa of Zimbabwe emerged with a century against the West Indies. A predominantly onside player, he was fed a consistent diet of middle and leg stump deliveries and prospered. One must ask what planning goes on and, as a result, the manager and the coach must come into the firing line.

Therefore, the cricket academy in Grenada must take a dominant role. For too long the West Indies have relied on pure natural talent to succeed. In this changing world of technology, one must see the need for a full time academy; a programme of 14 weeks or so is not enough. In other countries an academy is a full-time operation. Right now, too many of our players seem lost at the international level and lack the professionalism which is required to succeed at that level. We fall too meekly when the slighest pressure is applied.

The cricketing public must know what preparation goes into the West Indies team before any match. It is not good enough that the coach is being seen on television with a stern face ? he, along with the hierarchy of the team, must answer some serious questions. The coach and manager are accountable for the actions of their charges. The captain?s statement after the defeat that certain aspects of the team?s performance could be approved upon simply appears to be an attempt to brush the tough questions aside, which is something he does with alarming regularity. Should the West Indian public believe that, miraculously, this team will rise up and beat India? ? that seems to be the material on which fairy tales are based.

This captain has escaped the scrutiny which some of his predecessors have endured seemingly because some elements of the West Indian public are his fans. One must separate him as a player from his performance as captain of the team. One must also look at Hooper as captain and Hooper as a player and make one?s judgment ? stop combining the two. He should be under some extreme pressure, as his record to date is not impressive. Also note that, at the post-match press conferences, bowling and fielding always take the blame ? never the batting. Maybe that is because the captain is a major component of the batting lineup and, until now, has escaped real scrutiny.

In addition to the hierarchy of the actual West Indian team, the hierarchy of West Indies cricket also needs to be placed under scrutiny.

What are the plans for West Indies cricket? There needs to be more clarity and openness with regards to matters involving cricket and its development, especially when it is faced with this sort of crisis. This crisis has now impacted the team which is the most symbolic part of West Indies cricket. Remember that the executive was in crisis last year with the resignations of the president and his deputy. Now the CEO, Gregory Shillingford has left also. Who is in charge?

Also, remember that last year the former president and his deputy fired current manager of the team, Ricky Skerritt, a decision which was reversed by the Board. This indicated a rift.

Something is definitely wrong with our cricket; it must be seriously addressed.

* SOURCE: Barbados Advocate.