Rebuilding West Indies Cricket
PART III - TEST PREPARATION & INCENTIVES
The next generation of West Indies Test players will now be
emerging better prepared to handle Premium Class cricket based on
any planned system similar to that mentioned in
Parts I and II of this series.
The players would be the first generation of a plan consisting of
well rounded coaching and an upgraded teaching/training strategy.
But it must not stop there...
There is the belief that the Aussies put their players through a
bit of psychological testing as part of their training at their
Academy, they do seem to have the edge in that department. The
possibility exists that they expose their young players to sledging
drills thereby preparing them for any cricketing abuse. It may
sound extreme and they will deny it, but is it not possible? Some
times when we do discover it as fact we are already way behind the
eight ball.
In my opinion it appears to be engrained in their cricket make up,
like a second nature, to be considered just reactionary occurrences
on the field.
Our Cricket Academy should institute a Psychology 101 - 'Counter
Sledging' program to help our youngsters prepare to cope when such
a situation arises. It is part of the game and it wont go away. The
recent behavior of some of our young players, indicates the
necessity for psychological evaluation and prepping, to better
handle various adversity at the first class level.
Following that, the WICB and the Academy must set about
participating in various Tri-Series matches with other Academies of
test playing nations, at home and abroad. This will further develop
the competitive spirit of our players against players most will
compete later in their cricket careers. A recent invite by
Australia to take part in an Academy Series with England and the
host was regrettably turned down - WICB should find ways to make
future opportunities like this a reality.
Incentives to at least one outstanding bowler or batsman should be
the inclusion in a home test or touring 16-man squad. The region's
players can only benefit from this experience, especially if the
players are given exposure in one or two pre-test games towards the
end of the tour. At this time a good assessment can be made of how
well this player applies what he has learned. It may even be
possible to slip them into a test depending on the win/loss
situation.
Now to the current test players. Though the talent is there
sometimes an extra incentive or two may be needed to bring it to
the forefront. It has often been said of some athletes that once
they get to the highest level, they feel they have made it and just
go through the motions. I do not believe this applies to our
cricketers, but the lure of better rewards for putting up good
numbers sure sounds enticing. Various monetary rewards should be
offered to West Indies test players for performances that meet a
pre-determined criteria. It is not a concept new to the pro
sporting world nor to the West Indies, and it works.
A good example is the reward for the batsman who gets 1000 runs in
the West Indies first class matches and the bowler who gets 50
wickets. Rewards should be offered for catches as well. The format
could be based on the a number of centuries/wickets in a series and
simply a dollar bonus amount for each catch taken. Smaller bonuses
can be rewarded for 5 wicket hauls and half century scores.
Does anyone believe that the phenomenal amount of runs being scored
in the local FC was just by chance? Or was it the lure of the
prize? If the West Indies do this at the Test level, the incentive
must be extraordinarily enticing and becomes the sole property of
the achiever and not shared with the team.
Since sponsors already issue monetary awards to the team that wins
the series, WICB could encourage better performances with their own
additional incentive for each test victory beginning with the
Australian Series. It may just be the small step that will maintain
infectious enthusiasm and germinate into Series wins.
* This is the third and final part the 'Rebuilding the Windies'
series. Angus Isaac can be found on the CC message board
posting under the 'Scar' handle.
ALSO SEE:
*
PART I - SCOUTING FROM THE RANKS
*
PART II - THE COACHING SYSTEM