PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) -- Former West Indies Test opener Philo Wallace has disagreed with the decision to appoint Jason Holder Test captain and believes the responsibility will prove too much of a burden for the young player.

Wallace said Holder had displayed leadership potential, but warned that the new responsibility was a premature move by selectors.

"Jason has shown good leadership qualities so far, but I think to put him as Test captain at the age of 23 is just not right," the Trinidad Guardian quoted Wallace as saying on the CRICKET360 show here.

"He has not led Barbados in the PCL (Professional Cricket League) and to give him captaincy in the longer format without the experience is too much at this stage in my opinion.

"Jason has a tremendous amount to offer West Indies cricket, but we must be careful that we don't push him too soon, which I think is what is happening here."

Totally agree with Wallace, Holder should have been given more time to establish himself in Test cricket. Holder should have been the ODI captain for the moment.

People who make Sense in the Region
are never heeded ; as a result Mediocrity always wins , and then WE
ask ourselves how did WE get into this mess while the answer is slapping us in our faces every day . BUT WE LIKE IT SO

Graham Smith was 22 and see how that turned out. Faced the same type of criticism at home but leadership qualities are not measured by being a star or runs scoring machine or top wicket taker. If so Kallis woulda been captain by far.

In reply to Scar

Smith had an amazing start to his career against a strong Aussie side which exhibited his mental strength.

Smith still had a strong SA side which was expected to win. Smith never compromised on the result and his major challenge was to garner respect from senior folks which he was able to over a period of time when he succeeded as SA captain.

With Holder, I think he would still be able to get the respect of his team members since he is a nice guy. He is also a good improvement to Sammy in both the departments.

But the problem is he does not have a strong team like the SA. All the seniors are banished to give him free run. More importantly, like Sammy he is being given a run without any expectations with regard to the results. That is the worrying part. After 3 years WI might still be talking about perceptions on how good WI looked under holder irrespective of any results to show

The show must go on.

Holder will need w broad back for what will follow.

Its ultimately a more positive move than marking time doing the same old.

Still, more boldness is needed.

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

who is Wallace and what is his accomplishments?

good decision lloydie.

In reply to Commie

In reply to Pacy

WHy would there be a problem once they turn up for their primary employer ?

They wont STOP making money you know.

there is nothing bold in naming Holder as captain, basically it is an excuse for failure,now the administrators will inevitable ask for time when the predictable failure occurs.

In reply to Commie

Before IPL came in players were still playing for the primary employer... Still had the same treatment...WICB cant stand strong and independent thinkers. Simple

Even the current players were representing the WI team regularly until WI decided to drop them after the WC.

smith ,Nawab of Pataudi,Tendulkar etc are all quite irrelevant.what s relevant is his captaincy and leadership experience.for example how long has he captained Barbados in for day cricket?

In reply to Wally-1

Ignorance is bliss...?Attacking the message not the messenger

In reply to Pacy

What kinda fuckries you trying pass off there.

There is nothing strong and independent about trying to play for the highest purse.

It is what it is.

You all..including Jackie sprat don't like to hear it but WI Cricket gave all these guys a career, a platform in which to make careers for themselves. Who knows what most of them would have ended up doing without WI Cricket.

In turn they have given us the worst era of cricket in the history of WI Cricket.

If you want to mourn that group of strong and independent losers...go right ahead.

In reply to Commie

In reply to anandgb

Its not that they would be nothing. That is not the argument. The argument is that in the quid pro quo of something for something they have extracted FAR more than they have given. Which means as a fan I really don't give two flying fucks if they don't get picked at this stage.

The WICB has been complicit in this exercise in futility to the point that now they move on people actually complain....

That was the same attitude the WIBC reportedly adopted when the great-but unlettered-Garfield Sobers asked it for a nominal raise,to match his abandoned Sheffield Shield contract since she stood to lose money in breaking it to represent the West Indies.

The always imperious Board reportedly told him to take it or leave it because if, on the his way home from Australia, his plane crashed, West Indies cricket would have gone on without him.

"What would Sobers have been without West Indies cricket?";

"What would Richards have been without West Indies cricket";

"What would Lloyd have been?"

I hear some lackeys, and WICB mouthpieces rhetorically asking.

Where is Kerry Packer when we need him? "West Indies first" Lloyd would have advocated!

Oops! Wrong era!

I guess West Indies cricket salvage these greats from a life of destitution so they should have just known their place and taken whatever was meted out to them when they played.

In reply to Commie

In reply to jacksprat

The fundamental point is that Richards and Sobers beg the question what would WI Cricket be without THEM.

They were invaluable assets to the brand and the building of the brand and the creation of a winning team.

That you would add them into a debate for characters who represent the DIRECT OPPOSITE of that value equation is fraudulent to say the least.

If Bravo and co NEVER happened to WI Cricket WI Cricket would likely be in the exact same place we are now or at LEAST better off.

If WI Cricket never happened to Bravo and co the likelihood is that they would be a great deal poorer.

Whatever flickering interest that still exists in West Indies cricket is because of the likes of the much derided 'stars' such as Gayle, Samuels, Narine, Pollard, etc.

No one goes to the park to watch the Camerons, Hilaires, Huntes and Beckles of this world, with their pliant, happy but no-talent 'cricketers' in tow.

If Hunte, Hilaire, Cameron, and others of their ilk, had their way only they and the usual 2 dozen pensioners would still be watching all facets of West Indies cricket.

Fact is, Gayle and other 'stars' still have the capacity to draw fans to the park and consequent world-wide interest to the dying sport of cricket in the Caribbean.

West Indies cricket is in a relentless death spiral and will remain so even after this generation of convenient scapegoats exits the scene.

In reply to jacksprat

In reply to camos


You are indeed a very perceptive fellow . What you have stated is absolutely correct . For many years now , they have stated that WE must give them & the Players more time .

In reply to Commie

Some of the incompetent parasites around the WICB-who have been feeding at the trough, some for more than 40 years-contributed even less to the marginal success that the West Indies experienced over the past 25 years!

But they get a pass!

Yet these profilers were the same ones fighting for power and somehow thought themselves irreplaceable and their positions life times appointments! What have they contributed to improvement of West Indies cricket?

The "star" Brian Lara was once the problem. They ran him out of West Indies cricket with the promise that West Indies cricket would be better off without him.

"We were losing with him anyway!"

How is that going?

I agree with you: these players, the Gayles, et al, will soon leave because players come and go but West Indies will remain still on life support because many of the opportunistic administrators have not a clue about running, much less improving, West Indies cricket! The next generation of 'stars" will be sullied and marginalise just the same and West Indies cricket will continue to spin its wheel on a journey to nowhere

But the parasites will keep fighting for the power and the glory-cheered on by people like you, their Amen Corner-oblivious to the fact that they will be,as Bob Marley said, "A king sitting on an empty throne" !!

In reply to jacksprat

All that text for what.

Do you think Denver fans miss Carmelo and his star quality ? Do NY Knick fans feel lost without his star power ? Sports fans follow the sport and the team and when they do adore players they adore those who make the team a winning team or a better team or who at least leaves it all on the field of play.

Irrespective of the incompetence of James Dolan the Knick fans expect the players to give it their all.

I really do not give a shit about this emotional plea. The players are getting paid and are producing skite. Move on to someone who can build their career and at least pretend to care about the results on the field.

I repeat. Frauds.

In reply to Commie

In reply to anandgb

In reply to Commie

In reply to anandgb... funny they are something, yet West indies cricket is nothing. Again, we looking at the cart.

In reply to Pacy

I am a Celtics fan. The fans are baying for the blood of a talented young player called Jared Sullinger who has been a fat fuck drawing large coin except this coming season which surprise surprise is a contract year. He will of course do great numbers as he is coming into free agency. As soon as he gets that contract he will be back in burgerville.

The Celtics is a storied organisation and rank at the top of most metrics of sporting organisations.

Sully, like Eddy Curry was at NY is a fraud imo, coasting except when it serves him not to.

The organisation took a flyer on him.

Now take Rampaul and Sarwan. Two frauds. Rampaul is supposed to be a professional and yet like Sullinger and Curry who both were injury prone, Rampaul has been injury prone because he has not prepared himself for the job he is being paid for. Incredibly talented but lazy.

Same goes for Sarwan, a fraud who lied continuously about his fitness and who put multiple coaches on the line for the very thing that has literally ended his career. It ended his county stint and compromised his intl career and now has seeped even into domestic cricket.

Fraud. It derailed a potentially great career but its his ultimate responsibility.

Like any franchise sports fan in the US I have no reason to feel sorry for them. They had careers whilst generally not even giving their best and also whilst their intl team which I support has suffered.

There is ZERO reason for me to have any empathy for that.

If Holder, Blackwood and co treat their careers similarly they too will meet the same demise.

As it is WI cricket has a chance to move on. Despite the dysfunctional nature of the WICB they haven't tried to make these players be frauds. Its just easier to be frauds and to get paid for years as a WI player.

In reply to Commie... why should the players care if the administration doesn't care about winning?

In reply to natty_forever

The point about the players not caring is neither here nor there because the set being discarded have not cared for a long time. The issue is whether fans who follow the game should lose any sleep over that set of players being replaced.

In reply to Commie

In reply to Pacy

Weaken what setup?

Lessen what crowds?

You live in some alternative dream world where WI dropped a set of players who were underpinning a popular successful highly ranked WI team?

Snap out of it.

We have gone this route before with wholesale turnover of the team. Somehow the useless administrators are still in place decade after decade...yet we continue the same futility.

Lest we forget, this was the star team that turned out versus Sri Lanka the last time we toured there:

(Remember this was less than 5 years ago)

Gayle X
Barath X
DM Bravo
Shiv X
NashX
DJ Bravo X
Baugh X
Sammy X
Russell X
Shillingford X
Roach

NOTHING HAS CHANGED!!!

Three ago, we fielded this star team against England, when the stated goal was to 'win first innings points'! and take the game into the 4th day!:

Barath X
Powell X
K Edwards X
DM Bravo
Shiv X
Samuels
Ramdin
Roach
F Edwards X
Gabriel

Let's see how many of the current crop of new saviours will still be around 3 years from now.

We know the same useless administrators will still be there !!!

In reply to Scar

In reply to Commie

Check the videos of crowd from 2000 home series... You will know.

I remember in 2000's we had multiple players kicking the door... Stuart Williams, Ganga, Ryan Hinds, Devon Smith, Sarwan, Chanders, Gayle, Hinds were all there in the set up scoring runs. Hooper and Lara too were scoring when they played.

Now we dont see anyone dominating the fC season consistently for 2 years togather.

If you dont want to see it you can never see it. Not realising that we are regressing year after year is the reason why WI is still on the way down but the others have stopped the rot and are moving forward. Including Bang.

Only other team that is stuck in the same place or regressing Is Zimbabwe.

In reply to Pacy

In reply to Commie

When you dont have 11 good players you cant succeed... WI had great 11 in the 70's and 80's with spare and were able to win Consistently

In late 80's and early 90's stars started fading away and the replacements were not up there. Still had 11 good players to represent and the results started up and down.

After Richards, Marshall, Haynes in the early 90's WI still had more than half the team of stars with walsh, Ambi, Bishop, Lara, Ritchie, Hooper, Chanders which still Helped WI win matches but not as consistently as they did earlier.

Late 90's and early 2000s saw Walsh,Ambi, Ritchie, Bishop all left for WI to fend of with literally Lara, Hooper and Chanders who won matches on their individual brilliance here and there but with no consistency.

Late 2000s saw both Hooper and Lara out of the team with only Chanders with a few decent players in Gayle, Bravo, Roach who stepped up here and there.

You can blame the few decent players all you want but if a team of Lara, Hooper, Chanders, Walsh and Ambi could not win consistently this team will not and results will only be few and far between.

Question should be why has the talent getting leaner year after year and how is that going to be addressed. It is easy to blame Gayle / Bravo / Sarwan / Taylor / Fidel for what they are and brand them as frauds but they are what they are and what we have in the system and who you are sending in SL might not even be at their level.

I just hope by miracle we get a couple of Ambi's and Lara's emerge from the system somewhere.

In reply to Pacy

In reply to Commie... so why were they willing in 2004 and 2012? Not to mention the 418 world record chase.

weren't these same frauds around?

This continues to highlight to me that the Administrators caan manage the thing.

In reply to Commie

In reply to Pacy

You don't go from shit to successful without being competitive first.

And being competitive has nothing to do with having star players.

In reply to natty_forever

In reply to Kay... I know, but why were they willing to bond together then and not on a consistent basis. One reason I think, team picked on merit.

In reply to Pacy

Croft has a different experience from the one you outline.