West Indies cricketers lazy, greedy—Roberts
Published: Guardian
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Sean Nero
Sports Minister Anil Roberts has waded into members of the West Indies Cricket Team for their poorly sustained international performances, describing them both as historically ignorant and greedy. He said, “We have to look for some other avenues to tell the world that we are great because cricket aint have nothing good on the horizon, unless they get serious; because their motivation to play is only financial and when you under pressure, you will forget what money means.
When man coming at you 90 miles per hour, you not studying how to go and deposit a cheque! That would not help you! “I dare anyone to go and talk to a West Indies cricketer about history. But we go and we wait; we wait by the radio and we look at the TV ready to celebrate because West Indies cricket is much more than a sport. Do these cricketers understand the sociology of cricket? Do they understand that the first test was played back in 1928 (and) when we became successful back in 1962-1964 that was the time of the civil rights moment across the globe?
That was the time when Caribbean people said we can beat them? Do these new cricketers know that? I bet you not! He lamented that not many athletes in this sporting discipline knew the remarkable contributions of cricket legends Bernard Julian and Phil Simmons.
Roberts decried the fact the present crop of cricketers did not know that former West Indies cricketer Deryck Murray who now serves as president of the Queen’s Park Cricket Club was one of the world’s best wicket keepers. In addition, Murray was ranked as the longest serving wicket- keeper in West Indies history, playing in 41 consecutive test matches. “When people don’t have an interdisciplinary approach, what do you get? Licks! Absolute licks! They were defending world champion, do they understand what it means to be world champion. They won, yes! They dance, they lime and had fun. They bubble champagne. Do they know what that meant?
Did they understand that coming around in a few years (was) uneasy lies the head that wears the crown? Were they preparing for that? No! We do not understand what are the individual characteristics of a great team,†the minister said. Pointing to the success of T&T Olympic medal winner George Bovell III, Roberts declared that he (Bovell) was one of the greatest athletes the Caribbean had ever seen.
Anyone who had met him, said Roberts, could attest that he was one of the most loveable, intelligent human beings they had ever met. “At 30 years old going to his fifth Olympics, he just went on a three-day gymnastics course in the gymnastics training because he knows the explosive nature in the core work they were doing that could assist him by Rio 2016,†he said.
“In T&T, whether a team gets licks, they (are) okay, the first thing they say: I want more money. Well, more money can’t help you? More money can’t make you jump higher and hit a volleyball–swipe it harder. More money can’t make a badminton player hit the ball properly and serve over the net and get faster. More money not going to make the female (U-20) football team fitter to run down USA! We know we can’t beat them, but that’s all right. But we must know what we need to do, so that in time to come we can beat them on every level.â€
