Getting the best out of WI for T20 World Cup

Tue, May 7, '24

 

Daren Sammy led the West Indies team in 2012 and 2016 to championship victories in the ICC T20 World Cup competitions. Those were fantastic achievements. However, captaincy and coaching are two different aspects in the same sport.

The captain is on the field and controls the running of the game for his team and at all times must be aware of where his opportunities lie in order to grab the advantage over his opponent.

In the game of cricket especially, where there are four basic formats – whether it’s a Test match of five days or a first-class game of three or four days, a single innings of 50 overs per team or 20 overs per side – there would be various approaches.

Hence, several strategies to adopt in order to win– all happening on the field of play while the game is in progress, when thinking has to be constant and tactics change readily. It’s not an easy task.

At present, Sammy is the coach, therefore, no longer being in the middle of the action on the field of play. His role as coach involved the planning stage before a game begins, observing the play as it unfolds so that advice could be rendered at a suitable interval to gain an advantage. This part is tricky because it could interfere with the playing activity in progress and the on-field change of plans of the captain.

The point that I’m making here is the frustration a coach can encounter while watching from the sidelines, plus the emotional control he needs to be able to master the technique. A game being observed from off the field can be at odds with what is taking place on it.

Read more at Newsday

0 comments