Message Board Archives

that's the real issue.
It's the way we play our cricket.

Master Phil's time is about done. He ain't no good strategist.

I say once again let's shop out of the region or a coach.

In reply to InHindsighti agree we should expand our coaching search but not just at international level but at the local level too which is where it is the most needed but that one would probally get the biggest push back from the territorial boards

In reply to InHindsight

I understand why WI can’t hire Hooper as a batting coach, someone who is vastly experienced in FC and played locally in England and Australia!

In reply to StumpCam

good call...plus he understands fully what flattering to deceive is all about

In reply to sudden

Could Hooper teach them anything they dont know already about a pretty 30 and then a stupid out?

In reply to VoopsandOut

What are Simmons and Etswick pedigree???
Apart from maybe Andy Flower and Bob Woolmer , what other great players were successful coaches???
Plus, what other former WI players other than Courtney Walsh are coaching???

In reply to InHindsight

You are obviously right. The issue is not simply about batting or bowling.

Unfortunately we have not invested in the analysts, technology and infrastructure so even an external coach at this stage is unlikely to make a big difference.

What could make an immediate impact is Lewis and Hetty. With those two batters we would win the occasional game against established teams.

In reply to Headley

What Windies lack is strategic thinking - give me any of Lara, Shiv, Walsh, or Tony Gray on that coaching team!

In reply to StumpCam

Oddly enough Gus Logie is working with one of the local clubs over here

In reply to XDFIX

Partner it gone past strategic thinking.

Can you imagine going to a doctor in 2022 who has no equipment or devices acquired after 1970?

In reply to XDFIX

I would have to agree with you. Some of our batters seem to think the only way to score runs in white ball cricket is by hitting sixes.

A batter constantly trying to smash the ball out of the ground can create excitement for spectators and TV viewers. However, it can also be risky for the batter as the ball is constantly being hit in the air.

In my view, batting is about building an innings. In other words, you start in first gear and work your way up to the top gear. You don't start off in the top gear.
in white ball cricket you have to move through the gears quicker than red ball cricket but you still have to build an innings.

Pakistan employed a more sensible approach to batting than West Indies in this series.

That's my two cents.

What everybody seems not to understand is exactly where the problem lies.The problem is not at the level of International cricket, it is at the level of schools and club cricket.
Last week for example the Georgetown Cricket Association had some Under seventeen fifty over matches and one team was bowled out for 23 runs and the other for 17 runs.
I do not know about other territories but in Guyana they are now trying to revive schools cricket.
When it comes to club cricket, the standard was extremely high in the 60's and 70's but is now piss-poor.back in the day retired International cricketers played club cricket.I can remember Basil Butcher at age 40+ scoring centuries in club cricket.Today not even first class cricketers are playing cub cricket as they are playing cricket professionally in Europe and places we did not even know played cricket.Clubs have no money and are broke.Government refuses to allow cricket gear into the country duty free and thus they are prohibitively expensive.
I can go on.
So when you cuss Phil Simmons, remember Pooran, the captain of both ODI and T 20 International cricket for the West Indies has scored a grand total of 2 centuries in Senior cricket(Non-age group cricket) over the last 8 or 9 years so how do you expect him to be experienced in building an innings?

In reply to VoopsandOut

30 x 11 = 330.
I'll take that score.

In reply to Dukes

Yes, we have to improve our school cricket but that is a long term solution. Right now we have to look at what improvements can be made to our senior team. One approach is to try and convince our batters they can't hit a six off every ball.

In reply to Fivestar
Our problem has alway been after the U19 level.
CWI have 90 regional CPL contracted players and 15-20 International contracts.
Is there an academy in all the Islands to train and develop players?
They are three Barbadians youngsters who moved to England, these youngsters development is way ahead of the players left in Barbados.

In reply to InHindsight

Simmons has failed miserably, inspite having extra power of being one of the selector...his selection policy is weird...selected a team of unfit, overaged retirees for ICC World Cup T-20....making the team butt of jokes...selecting Spinners in seaming conditions and seamers in spinning ...if players are penalised for poor performance by degrading or removal from central contract or dropped from team....then Simmons must be held responsible for decisions creating fiasco apart from teams repeated poor performance...

In reply to openning

You are correct and won't get any argument from me. We all seem to agree West Indies cricket needs improvement we sometimes disagree on what needs to be done. I believe CWI issued a statement a while back about having a main cricket academy supported with smaller satellite academies in each territory.

to reply to the thread, it is not our batting and bowling that is the problem. It is everyone else's

I agree with most things said here:


Hety and Lewis will make a big difference. Though on these tours our batting wasn't an abject failure.


Secondly, as I've said before our batting philosophy needed to be revisited. As one said earlier. We keep thinking to keep the scoreboard ticking we have to hit balls for six(ask Joe Root and Barbar Azam).

The another glaring deficiency is with with to planning and strategy. Whatever we've employed is archaic and myopic. More needs to be done here. This here is mouthful

Our FC cricket is definitely lacking I many aspects and woefully inadequate. Hence I don't blame the players as much I would the board.


I also think enough is not done to prepare players for specific roles in our cricket. And I am not just think here, short term planning development. To further clarify for example, Hayden Walsh our leg spinnercontinues to be far below par and not improving. We don't have a wide stock o choose from. And are we active as a board building in this and other areas?

Please don't tell me about those short term clinics we may have had in the past with foreign coaches.

Anyway I've made my point

In reply to InHindsight

The only way our players will get better is if they are in a professional set up where they can compete and work out the kinks in their game on a daily basis at least 4 months per year! The more repetition the better! That’s what our players in past did in the English Counties.

In reply to StumpCam


That alone won't fix it.

in my mind, there is a myth about English county cricket that needs to be addressed. English counties did not send scouts to rural Guyana and Barbados etc to find raw talent to develop. The counties picked up guys who had established themselves internationally because they would be a good draw for crowds. These guys established themselves through performances in our FC season and trials. In the past, all players appeared eager to represent their territories and so vie for selection to WI team. Now the more talented players vie for professional contracts (absolutely nothing wrong with that!) but their professional commitments plus our Board's bizarre policy of scheduling international white ball tours during our FC season to accommodate other countries, means that we no longer get FC seasons where the best play the best. Once the board gives the NOC then the player can go abroad to play. Therefore the only thing that is entirely within its control is the timing of the FC season and the tours. WE dont need English counties that have their own problems with standards to rescue us. The professionalism that the counties provided could be met in any current professional league if a player takes the time to understand

Bring all the coaches you want and it will make no difference unless the players are hungry for success and are willing to make all the sacrifices to diet and train properly as all professional sports people do. Our players must be prepared to do the hard work to also include hours of watching film as NBA and NFL players do.
But while many of us true fans see these problems, there are still some here who will support their home boys who are not prepared to do any of this. People still have Lewis and Hetmyer in their teams even though they regularly fail fitness tests. A clear indication that these players do not care and are not prepared to do what it takes to be a professional.If the body is not fit, concentration will soon go.

yes yes, a new coach every few months will turn these ~20 averaging players into world beaters!

In reply to StumpCam

I believe Corey Collymore is employed by the WICB.

In reply to Headley

Yes, I realized that and Shiv is also coaching!

In reply to VoopsandOut

Grateful if you would put your thoughts into paragraphs.

I am not trying to be rude but if you don't have time to do it I must admit I don't have the time to struggle to read it.

In reply to VIX


Bruh yuh hommie or not Simmons needs to be replaced.

In reply to Dukes

Preach Bredda…I stop making myself hoarse long time.

Even in BIM with the SIR Everton Weeks Centre of Excellence, the grassroots training is being done by PE Teachers and parents. The indictment is that the BCA has a 1000 certified coaches all fighting to get a pick to coach on a franchise or in the same center. No one is winning because the coaches are not even honing their skills.

For a long time even before COVID cricket was not being played in the schools or the communities but it was only happening at a few clubs a couple of days a week at best.

These youngsters all have good basic hand eye coordination but they no longer have a feel for game they are playing because they being raised like paupers.