Avoiding another Bennett King

Thirdly Australia is the world champion not only because its players are superbly prepared and their former head coach for many years John Buchanan devised winning formulas but significantly because Buchanan and Cricket Australia were intuitive enough to have loaded the support staff slots with competent professionals.

Let us now proceed.

Not following Buchanan and Cricket Australia’s approach in appointing competent, rather than conformist personnel, was perhaps the singular failing of the insecure Bennett King in the West Indies head coach role. King handpicked men for his support team first and foremost on the basis of them not being a threat to him. This was heightened by his own self-conscious shortcomings as a coach at the international level. He had as his deputy a man, David Moore, who, during his brief elevation to the top job, has proved incompetent beyond what King himself managed to achieve (see disaster in the England test series and being dumped out of the first round of the Twenty20 World Cup).

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King, condemned by the new captain as being the worst coach he has worked with at any level, brought in a fitness trainer in Bryce Cavanagh, who prepared players as if they were engaged in the three hour bursts of rugby as opposed to the gruelling unending engagement that is test cricket. Rugby was Cavanagh’s forte and he proved unable to adapt to cricket and left disgruntled.

King also brought in a psychologist who he (King), and subsequently his deputy Moore, had virtually running practice sessions to the total bewilderment of players. This is despite the fact that David Scott’s knowledge of cricket was barely above zero. King was comfortable to have him on board, not because he provided a useful service, but more importantly because Scott was compliant in filling the role. King knew that Scott would be happy to be along for the ride while not challenging his authority. Scott was also quickly ignored by the players as he had no advice, psychological or otherwise for them. He treated the players, not like cricketers but more like juvenile delinquents, embarrassed them and psychologically unsettled them, even just prior to and during games.

It is important to note that while the likes of Virender Sehwag have publicly stated how Dr Rudi Webster helped him with his game and the psychologists from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand get public praise from their players, Scott was never even mentioned publicly by any West Indian player. That is the most serious condemnation he could ever receive.

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It is understood that the physiotherapist, Stephen Partridge, was exceptionally competent and executed his role with the highest level of professionalism. He was the only exception to the general trend applied by King and Co.

It is therefore critical, that after three years of stagnation and backwardness, led by King and Moore that the entire mix of the team management is gotten right by the WICB. It is understood that one of the main reasons for the bowlers being strangely unable to land the ball on the pitch in the opening encounter of the Twenty20 World Cup is that the players were taken through an unnecessary and very strenuous gym session on the morning of that game by the interim fitness trainer Richard Smith at the behest of the caretaker coach Moore. This does not augur well for Smith’s continued involvement.

While in South Africa the players also shunned the physiotherapist, Jackie King-Mowatt. It is understood that she was not very inclined to provide treatment and therapy during the trip. This though should have been known by the WICB beforehand as she was previously involved with the West Indies senior and A Teams and similar reports were had on those occasions. Whereas the players were carefully attended to by Partridge, they were left to their own devices by King-Mowatt.

The onus is now on the WICB, to provide support staff who will not give the players ‘their own way’ as they apparently crave but who are competent professionals who understand the game of cricket, its requirements and nuances. The WICB must appoint individuals who will be firm, not ignorantly firm but rather safe in the knowledge that the application of their methods are truly towards player development and consistent team performance.

The support staff, led by the head coach must also create a dramatically improved work environment in the West Indies team. There must be a free flow of information and ideas from the players to the support staff and vice versa. It would be naive to think that difficulties will not surface and that personalities will not disagree but once these are handled in a mature manner, as opposed to King’s vindictive inclinations (refer to Pedro Collins unexplained exclusion from West Indies cricket in the recent past) progress can be had.

The King and Moore led support staff units were distinctly disconnected from the players. There was no free flow of information. The Aussie group joined the bus at the appointed time and when the sessions were over they kept to themselves and never sought to embrace or even tolerate the West Indian culture of the players. They cut themselves off. West Indians are a warm and welcoming people, we embrace our visitors, should the visitors cut themselves out, it is likely to offend the locals. And this is exactly what the Australian team did.

Seeming to be professional is one thing, understanding that an international cricket team spends eight to ten months a year together and therefore there has to be a certain camaraderie which the leaders must foster is a critical component for success. This was only recently celebrated by all who watched the India triumphs at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. Whoever lands up in the new West Indies coaching staff would do well to take note.