The Windies captaincy conundrum
Republished from DigicelCricket.com
The debate has begun. Who will be the next captain of the West Indies? The incumbent, Floyd Reifer, thrust into the job in exigent circumstances, has done a fair job leading the side on the field. However the 37 year old has, not one but two swords of Damocles hanging over his head.
He lost all but one match (an inconsequential and consolation Twenty20) he has captained and his batting has been nothing short of woeful. In a properly constituted West Indies team he stands no chance whatsoever of even being in the third string side.
Even if the WICB continues to ignore the players who had previously boycotted – which it seems intent on doing at least for the immediate future – it would be almost unthinkable for them to return Reifer to the captaincy post. His batting at the international level is simply not up to scratch.
Perhaps every time he takes the crease in international cricket he is haunted by the memories of Allan Donald thundering in to him in South Africa and leaving him frozen and frightened. Facing Donald and company in 1998/99 was an obvious traumatic experience for the otherwise elegant Barbadian left-hander and his repeated failures may be a sign of the cricketing version of post traumatic stress disorder. Or it may not be. There are those who just seem incapable of transforming their success at the First Class level to the international stage. Reifer may be among them.
Whatever it is, only through extreme benevolence from the selectors and the WICB and the continued non-selection of the first choice players could Reifer be considered for another West Indies squad. And if he is squeezed in, he is unlikely to be returned to the captaincy as he cannot command a place in the side, particularly as a One Day player which is the version the Windies will next participate in – the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa in September.
So if not Reifer then who among those the WICB is likely to select? Vice captain Darren Sammy must be a strong candidate among the replacement players. There are even strong rumours that he is being considered as captain of the full strength side.
However despite his effervescence and production, particularly with the ball, Sammy has never cemented a place in any West Indian side. In fact, immediately prior to the boycott he was not in the West Indies squad though many felt he had been given a raw deal by the Clyde Butts-led selection panel.
To make Sammy captain with the regular players back in the side is to force him into the playing 11 when, ordinarily, he may not be as fortunate. Without the regular players Sammy would be a good choice for the leadership role of a young replacement squad eager to impress.
Some consider it unthinkable that the WICB would even contemplate returning Chris Gayle – the real incumbent – to the captaincy. In ordinary circumstances – his comments in England notwithstanding – he would be a shoo in.
Under Gayle’s leadership the team won a One Day Series in England in 2007, beat South Africa in a Test, drew a Test Series and won a One Day Series against Sri Lanka, stretched Australia in a Test series, thumped England in another Test Series and reached the semi final of the ICC World Twenty20.
By any measure his record as captain has been better than most in the past 10 years. There were failures as well but unlike others the failures were not exclusive or devastating. Gayle’s leadership has engendered the long lost hope among West Indian fans.
No one can reasonably expect Gayle or anyone else to have caused an overnight reversal in fortunes for a team which had perfected losing. The Jamaican, despite internal obstacles, has made positive and demonstrable progress which is obvious to all who wish to offer a fair assessment.
Factors other than cricket may prevent Gayle from returning to the captaincy as indeed in normal circumstances he should be. And if the WICB does not offer the post to Gayle they are unlikely to offer it to any of the other candidates who joined him in boycott action. That means that Gayle’s vice captain – Denesh Ramdin – and former captains Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo will all be ruled out.
This truly leaves a predicament and given the antagonistic tone with which the WICB and the players have been treating each other the WICB may be leaning towards installing a compromise candidate. It is no surprise then that there are hot rumours of Sammy being the man to be elevated to the position with and/or without the regular players.
The issue will then be that Sammy must play in all forms of the game and with him in the side it will lead to the exclusion of someone who may ordinarily play. As Sammy is considered more a bowler than a batsman it will be one of the bowling positions which will be his.
If all the bowlers are fit Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor are likely to play. Assuming that the other all rounder – Dwayne Bravo – bats in the top six as he has done, the other bowling slots will go to two of Sammy, left arm spinner Sulieman Benn, paceman Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul whose return to international cricket – pre-boycott – was impressive.
Whatever the decision, from the indications, cricket is not likely to be the primary consideration of the decision makers. And that will not be a merely a predicament, it will be a travesty, one which - to grossly understate the issue - West Indies cricket does not need.