The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
Why is it that people seem to think you need to be a past great
player to be a successful cricket coach?
I've been following the recent
discussion surrounding Roger Harper's stint and the criticisms
from Alvin Kallicharran and others and, if I'm to go by their
thinking, then the Australian team and New Zealand team would be in
dire straits right now. My question is: What makes a successful
coach?
On an unforgettable evening at the Madras Cricket Club a few
years ago, a bunch of ardent devotees sat awe-struck in the
pavilion, savouring the word of God - the sporting God of our
childhood, of our adolescent years, of our teens.
Magically transported back to our youth and living the dream of a
lifetime, we sat around him like devotees at a "darshan", some of
us squatting on the floor, others huddled around him like the All
Blacks in prayer before an international rugby game.
There is an age old adage that is as true today as the day
William
Shakespeare first spoke those words, and that is "Uneasy lies
the head
that wears the crown."
Roger Harper, these days, must feel a bit like King Henry IV,
because even
as the West Indies team was preparing for the upcoming series
against India,
the vultures first in the forms of arguably the West Indies
greatest
batsman, and most successful captain, Sir Viv Richards, and one of
the West
Indies most sublime batsmen, and himself a former captain Alvin
Kallicharran, were weighing in with their not inconsiderable
opinions on the
state of West Indies cricket, and the suitability to the task, of
the
incumbent coach.
After every series India play, the position of captain Sourav
Ganguly seems to be the focus of debate. Despite triumphs in home
Test series against Australia, England and Zimbabwe, the outspoken
Indian skipper is under constant pressure.
Performances in one-day cricket have been less impressive and the
recent struggle to beat Zimbabwe in that form of the game
highlighted Ganguly's role once more. Despite that, the Indian
board has stuck with him for the tour of the West Indies...
Former Guyana and West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharran has
come out swinging at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Roger
Harper, describing the coach as "a mediocre player" who never
accomplished anything at the highest level.
"The West Indies Cricket Board in itself, they want people they can
control. What is Roger Harper doing being the coach of West Indies
cricket? He was a mediocre player - he didn't accomplish anything.
When he was playing, he was always asking people for advice, how to
coach him," Kallicharran said.