T20 destroying Windies cricket - Sir Garry
Lamenting t he misplaced priority of his modern West Indies compatriots, Sir Garfield Sobers said that twenty20 cricket had harmed the modern international game, and that day-night Test cricket could be a way to address the reducing number of fans of the longer version of the game.
Sir Garry, in Sri Lanka to watch the second and final Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies at the P. Saravanamuttu Oval, together with Michael Tissera unveiled the Sobers-Tissera trophy on the eve of the game.
Each had praise for the other – Sir Garry claimed Tissera was the best batsman Sri Lanka had in the years leading up to their inclusion into Test cricket, while the Sri Lankan said it was not the statistics but the way the West Indian played the game, that made him such a great cricketer.
“He was exemplary on the field; it was great just seeing him walk out to bat. Just seeing him walk between overs, you got the impression that this was the epitome of an athlete and cricketer. He always played the game in the best traditions,” Tissera said.
Sir Garry, who coached Sri Lanka soon after they were admitted into the ranks of Test-playing nations in 1982, however didn’t have praise for modern West Indian cricketers saying that they gave priority to various T20 leagues played around the world, and the only motivation to perform on the international stage was to earn a contract in those leagues.
“As I have always said, I have never made a run for myself. I have always played for the West Indies teams and it was a pleasure and joy to do what I did. Records meant nothing, the team was important. I don’t think we (West Indies cricket) have that kind of player today, who is prepared to play and give everything to his country. And that hurts. And until we are willing to get players who want to play for the West Indies in the right way, we will be struggling for a long time. I believe a lot of West Indies players today want to play Test cricket and do well because the IPL (Indian Premier League) is just around the corner and they can go there and play,” an emotional Sir Garry said.
He also agreed that those T20 leagues were destroying the modern game, especially West Indian cricket.
“It’s certainly destroying West Indian cricket. It is difficult to fault the players because cricket was at such a low ebb in the early stages of the game, players got absolutely nothing from it. It’s changed completely and when you look at it from the point of view of the players that have come up in the West Indies, a lot of them come from very humble backgrounds. So if there is that opportunity to make money to help their families then you can’t really blame them. But I think they should be able to use discretion and understand the difference,” Sir Garry said.
“I would want to believe that we will have to pass some kind of rule or something like that or do something different to what we are doing at the present moment,” Sir Garry added.
He credited Sri Lankan cricketers saying they put their country first when it came to playing cricket.
“They play for their country and they want to make sure that they boost this country. They don’t shy away, they don’t make excuses. They will come and play. And that is what you need in a country and as long as there are some of those players, Sri Lanka’s cricket will go from strength to strength and will become better,” he said.
Asked if any modern cricketer compared to him, a modest Sir Garry said he had never been a lover of himself, but was full of praise for cricketers of the past.
“You cannot compare between the modern player and the past player. You hear it so often, when people are trying to make comparisons, there is none. Believe me. There is not just one rule that has changed – there are about 12. It’s a completely new game to what was played in the past. We never had covered wickets. We never played with arm pads. We never played with face masks. We never played with two bouncers an over. We never played with two men behind square,” Sir Garry said, adding, “How can it be the same, when everything is so limited? I don’t see how people can sit down and make comparisons between the past and the present. We haven’t played under the same conditions. We haven’t played the game the way it started.”
“If you can tell me where we can see the comparions, then maybe we can discuss it. But I cannot see it. It’s a completely different game for the batsmen. A little more difficult for bowlers,” Sir Garry said.
Day-night Test cricket – which has been received with skepticism by players – has a supporter in Sir Garry who said that it could help the decline seen in the longer form of the game, especially in the West Indies. “It’s very good. I’m surprised it started in Australia. If we wanted to get attendance up in the West Indies, we should be having day-night Test matches. Our grounds these days are very, very empty. They are bare, compared to what it used to be, so I think day and night cricket will bring back some of these players. You will have a lot more people watching the cricket and it will build up the game and bring back a lot to the game that we have lost,” Sir Garry said.