“Is this fake news?”
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No … But the WI is a fake team.
CWI reaches out
by PHILIP SPOONER CRICKET WEST INDIES (CWI) has called upon three of the game’s greatest figures to help solve one of the biggest challenges it has faced.
Following the humiliation of the team being bowled out for 27 runs by Australia in the third Test match at Sabina Park in Jamaica on Monday, CWI president Dr Kishore Shallow reached out to icons Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara.
He has asked them to help dissect the humiliating 3-0 series whitewash by Australia, which culminated in one of the most spectacular collapses in cricket history.
Sir Clive recently addressed the CWI board of directors during the gala weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first World Cup triumph.
Speaking to the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday from Georgetown, Guyana, where he is attending the Global Super League tournament, the legendary former captain said he was available to contribute to the rebuilding of the game in the region. He acknowledged the situation was “urgent”.
“We have to examine all aspects of West Indies cricket from grass roots to the international level. Everything must be looked at closely and carefully. West Indies cricket is an institution. It has given so much to the people of this region and we must do all we can to revive it. I’m always available to help in any way,” Sir Clive said.
“How we can marry the ideas we have with what is necessary and have healthy discussion on the way we move forward, that’s what I’m thinking. It has been nearly 100 years since we have been playing top-class cricket and we have to get it right.”
The West Indies played their first Test match in 1928.
The humiliation on Monday came in what was the historic first Test match at Sabina Park under lights using the pink ball. West Indies were set 204 for victory but were dismissed for the second-lowest total in Test history after New Zealand’s 26 against England in 1955.
The West Indies’ previous lowest was 47 when Lara captained the team against England at Sabina Park in 2004. A month later, he made the world record 400 not out at the Antigua Recreation Ground.
CWI issued a communique early yesterday stating that Shallow had summoned an emergency meeting of the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee.
“To strengthen the discussions, I have extended invitations to three of our greatest batsmen ever: Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara.”
The three, who scored a combined 27 967 Test runs in their careers, will join former players Shiv Chanderpaul, The Most Honourable Desmond Haynes and Ian Bradshaw who already serve on the committee.
“This engagement is not ceremonial. These are men who helped define our golden eras. Their perspectives will be invaluable as we shape the next phase of our cricket development. We intend for this gathering to result in tangible, actionable recommendations,” Shallow added.
Defeat on Monday followed losses in the first two Tests at Kensington Oval and the Grenada National Stadium.
“Like every West Indian cricket fan, I felt the pain of our recent Test defeat to Australia. The result hurts deeply, not only because of how we lost, but because of what West Indies cricket has always represented to our people: pride, identity and possibility,” Shallow said.
“There will be some sleepless nights ahead for many of us, including the players, who I know feel this loss just as heavily. But while disappointment is natural, we must not allow this moment to define our journey. We are in a rebuilding phase, steadily investing in the next generation and reigniting the spirit that has long made West Indies cricket a force in the world.”
WE HAVE a problem! The collective shock and pain that was inflicted on the West Indies team by Australia at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica was felt across the cricketloving region.
Yesterday, the day after Monday’s debacle which saw the Windies routed for 27 runs in a heavy defeat, there was ongoing discussion.
Sir Clive Lloyd, one of the most successful captains in history and an icon of West Indies cricket, suggested that the team requires a rethink on its approach.
The 80-year-old, a two-time World Cupwinning captain, was approached by CWI to be part of a committee formed to make recommendations in the fallout from the debacle.
Patience
“We need a couple Larry Gomeses, more batsmen like him. We need batsmen who put a heavy price on their wickets and when they get in, look to stay in,” Sir Clive told MIDWEEK SPORT.
He was referring to the outstanding Trinidadian left-handed middle-order batsman who was known for his patience and adaptability in the West Indies all-conquering team of the 1980s.
West Indies were bowled out in just 14.3 overs and suffered a defeat by 176 runs as seven batsmen fell for “ducks”. The 27 runs scored was the second lowest in the history of Test cricket which started in 1877.
Sabina Park was also the venue of the West Indies’ previous lowest Test score of 47 against England in a heavy defeat 21 years ago.
In the previous Test in Grenada, they lost by 133 runs and the week before by 159 runs at Kensington Oval in Barbados as the Australians won the series 3-0 and retained the Frank Worrell Trophy.
“There is nothing wrong with digging in and ‘batting ugly’. We have to find ways of fighting, occupying the crease, and staying in for long periods to wear down the bowlers. We have not been doing that. Obviously, the mental side of our game needs to improve,” Sir Clive said.
“We have to go back to the basics. We have to look at schools’ cricket, club cricket, first-class cricket. Are we playing enough? We also have to look at the pitches – how are we preparing them and how they are playing.”
Sir Andy Roberts, the West Indies fast bowling great, joined the chorus around the region. He voiced serious concerns about the ongoing decline of West Indies cricket. The former pacer, who was part of the dominant 1970s and 80s West Indies teams, also pointed to technical deficiencies in the batsmen.
Embarrassment
“It has taken total embarrassment for us to come to our senses and see that a lot of work needs to be done. This is past embarrassment . .
. . We all saw what was happening over the years and we sat down, and we did nothing. I have been complaining about the standard of our cricket over the years,” he said from Antigua yesterday. Dr Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, took to social media to express his feelings surrounding the plight of West Indies cricket.
Ali, who is the current chairman of the CARICOM sub-committee on cricket, said “an entire system that is failing” needs to be fixed immediately.
“It is time for a full evaluation and accountability to the people of this region for the disastrous batting performance of the West Indies cricket team. We cannot disregard what all of us witnessed and endured in the last three Test matches.
“This is not about our players, administrators, or any individual; it is an entire system that is failing, and together, all of us must fix it now. This cannot continue into another series; we must not allow it to.”
Source: Nation
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Celebrate.
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Good luck young man.
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Hope it is worth the investment.
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Amazing.
Barbados car racing.
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