The WICB Gets It Right

Sunday's housecleaning in Barbados was a welcome sign of life from the administration of West Indies cricket. In an unexpected break from the predictable, Carl Hooper was not re-appointed as captain and young Ramnaresh Sarwan was announced as the vice captain instead of the veteran Ridley Jacobs.

Now, I do not mean to belittle either Hooper or Jacobs with those sentiments. Hooper took over the team at a very difficult time and provided the broad shoulders to carry it this far. For his part, Ridley Jacobs is possibly the most unsung hero of modern West Indies cricket and served ably in Bangladesh when Hooper's knees gave out.

Nevertheless, it must be recognised that Hooper has brought us as far as he could, and at 37, does not have much cricket left in him. Already his knees are a constant problem, and a woeful Word Cup both as a batsman and as the captain probably brought his term to its end. Thank you Carl for being there for us when we needed you.

Historically, and with few exceptions, the West Indies selectors have preferred to appoint a senior member as vice captain, and use that position purely as a backup appontment for the captain. In a refreshing forward-thinking move the selectors have chosen to give the job to a young man with clear captaincy potential. From the comments made in the official press release it appears clear that Sarwan - who showed in our final World Cup match exactly what he was made of - has been given the role with a view to grooming him for the eventual captaincy of the side.

It is difficult to praise this move too much. In addition to learning what it is to be West Indies captain both on and off field, it sets the expectations in the region and in the side. When Sarwan eventually ascends to the key position on the team, it will be a surprise to no one and the potential for resentment among his peers is dramatically curtailed. Additionally, the position on the senior team may clear his way to getting the captaincy of Guyana, where he currently stands behind both Hooper and Chanderpaul. First class captaincy is often the best place to learn the tactics and strategies of winning a cricket match.

Brian Lara's re-appointment after a tumultuous first term that ended in his resignation also has a great deal of merit. While it it true that the Trinidadian superstar can be high-strung, he is also clearly the key batsman in the side and a definite fixture for the short to medium term.

It should be remembered that his greatest performances came as captain against a touring Australian side, and if we have anything to bring down Aussie morale in the heat of the battle it is the sight of Brian Lara with something to prove. Just as it was for Jimmy Adams and Carl Hooper, leading this West Indies side comes at a tremendous cost. In a team that is subject to disheartening losses, the captain must be prepared to come under fire from all sides. Lara is one of the few available who can bear this burden.

It is disappointing to see so much criticism of the move to bring on Australian Bennett King as coach to replace the outgoing Roger Harper. If the criticism were based in any lack of merit or qualification on the part of King it would be fair, but resentment simply because he is not a West Indian is pure tribalism.

The simple fact is that there is not one West Indian among the applicants who has anything close to the qualifications that King has. The man has been intimately involved in coaching cricket at a high level for a decade, and is currently head of coaching at a cricketing academy that has produced more high quality players than all others combined. Which of Gus Logie, Eldine Baptiste, Robert Haynes, or any of the unknown 60-odd other candidates is anywhere near that?

The closest candidate in terms of qualifications to Bennett King was another foreigner, Bob Woolmer, who wasn't even prepared to accept a full time coaching position. Give me a man with a proven track record in producing professional cricketers who seems genuinely excited at the prospect of the job any day.

The appointment of Logie as King's eventual deputy shows that this board is not only committed to grooming future players but also future coaches. When King's term is done, Gus Logie will have been exposed to the same methodology in use in Australia right now and will have seen first hand how applicable it is in the Caribbean. No one will be in a better position to refine and improve the coaching techniques King brings to the Caribbean, and in turn teach them to other coaches in the region.

I will not dwell on the re-appointments of the CEO and the team manager. While it is unclear what contribution Ricky Skerritt has made to the team, or why Roger Brathwaite who most recently bungled the WICB's dealing with the WIPA was retained, I prefer to focus on the positives in this slate of appointments which greatly outweigh the negatives.

Time will tell whether these appointments are successful. It remains to be seen whether Brian Lara can once again repel the Aussie invaders, whether Ramnaresh Sarwan can become the much needed Future West Indies Captain, or whether Bennett King can instill a work ethic in players prone to displays of sloppy fielding and indifferent batting.

All that can be done is to put quality people in place, provide them with as much support and encouragement as possible, and let them get on with it.

Here's to the new order.

* EDITOR'S NOTE: Equal space available for dissenting viewpoint. Make submissions to ryan@caribbeancricket.com. Only submissions with real, full names will be considered for publication.