My beloved West Indies are an embarrassment
SIR CURTLY AMBROSE EXCLUSIVE
WEST INDIES never challenged England. They never competed. They did OK in the first hour of the first Test when they took two wickets but after that it all went downhill. In the end it was totally embarrassing.
I never saw any aggression from the West Indies players throughout the three days. There was no belief that they could compete, let alone beat England. They seemed to be waiting for England to make mistakes and at this level that is not going to work. Trust me, it was painful to watch.
What happened at Edgbaston is nothing new. This has been going on for a number of years so I cannot say I was really surprised. Nobody gave West Indies a chance before this series so to me that meant they were under no pressure.
Nobody would have criticised them if they had come out and just played aggressively, showed passion and pride and had a real go at upsetting England.
Instead, all I saw was a timid team with bat and ball throughout the three days. They just did not look as though they believed they could compete.
I keep hearing about a young and inexperienced team. Yes, that’s true, but this is international cricket and they could not afford to go out there thinking: ‘We’re inexperienced and England are a lot better than us.’ It meant they simply threw in the towel. You have to back yourself and believe in your ability.
There were a lot of frustrated West Indian legends at Edgbaston and I talked with Sir Viv Richards and Sir Andy Roberts at length before and during the Test about how we used to dominate world cricket, about our pride and passion. That’s what’s lacking and what happened at Edgbaston was painful to watch.
West Indies cricket is important for the world game and when we play well we play a special, entertaining brand of cricket.
What concerns me is that I do not think these players know what West Indies cricket means to West Indians and followers of the global game. People feel sad for us and that’s just not right.
I was with the team for two years as bowling coach and we tried to educate them about our heritage. I tried to tell them what West Indies cricket meant. I talked about the pride and passion in representing the region and our people.
I could talk to them all day but once they stepped over that rope they were on their own and if they were not prepared to listen, it was simply a waste of time. It does hurt. And it has reached a point where it is very embarrassing.
I don’t know what will happen next but I’m not optimistic about the immediate future.
It does not help that so many of our senior players are off playing Twenty20 cricket around the world rather than for West Indies and the inexperienced players have no-one to set them an example.
We have to get those players back into Test cricket by easing our regulations that say you cannot play for West Indies if you do not play in our domestic competitions. I’m not saying they should just come straight back from, say, the IPL and walk into the Test team but there needs to be a compromise.But even if we had everyone available for this series, West Indies would not be as good as we once were. That is a fact. It’s not easy to find another Viv Richards, Brian Lara or Malcolm Marshall.
Yet we do have enough talent to see a resurgence of West Indian cricket. Look at someone like Alzarri Joseph, who came out of the last Under 19 World Cup a star. Of course he won’t be able to just jump into international cricket and be a success. We have to give the young man a chance to grow. For now, I’m just hoping West Indies can compete at Headingley and Lord’s because what we have seen so far has been pathetic. They must realise that, apart from Jermaine Blackwood in the first innings and to an extent Kraigg Brathwaite in the second, this was a very poor effort from the batsmen, while the bowling lacked aggression and penetration.
West Indies must go back to the drawing board and return much stronger in Leeds on Friday. Losing one Test doesn’t mean they are out of the series. Come back with aggression, confidence and commitment. Our history and the pride we once had in our cricket demands it.