debut: 11/30/17
10,460 runs
In reply to Drapsey
WIPA strike could have happened a lot earlier. it is to the players' credit that they didn't strike on the return england series, which was hastily arranged by cwi and the ecb because SL had players in the IPL and the sri lanka board said it would not restrain the trade of SL players by forcing them to give up their ipl contracts in favor of a test series in alien conditions that they were likely to lose. Which is ironically the same decision the WICB was faced with when they arranged that tour that wasn't on the FTP. And the board was so illiterate and dunce that they actually believed the WI had a chance of retaining the wisden trophy even though there were only a few weeks separating the english visit of the caribbean, which was on the FTP and this glorified practice session for the ashes which would follow. It is in that context that chris gayle said he wouldn't mind if test cricket died. those perennial idiots spoiled the contest. Gayle understood what it meant to be a professional cricketer. he knew you couldn't wake up in the morning and decide that you were going to beat england in england with almost no time to prepare. Australia, best team in the world has not beaten england in england since 2001 and nobody prepares more meticulously than them
bangladesh was weak opposition so there was no better time for the board to deal with the players' issues. I was actually in the US on vacation when that took place. West Indian administrators don't seem to understand that a cricketer is a highly skilled professional. You don't manage a billion dollar industrial plant like a hotel or parlor