Typically, the reactions to being demolished for 114, losing the Test by 277 runs and the series 2-0 are as wild as they are varied.
“You know what they ’ave to do? They ’ave to bring back Powell and Pollard!†shouts an irate from the stands as Australian captain Michael Clarke conducts an impromptu media conference on the outfield minutes after his team had completed the demolition job in the blistering sunshine of the fourth afternoon at Sabina Park.
Someone next to the shouter points out to him that Kieran seems to have turned his back on the game and remains out of touch in his native Nevis, while Kieron is yet to play a Test match and may never do so. Silence follows.
But that’s okay. There’s always someone else willing to take on the role of town crier.
“When we goin’ pick we best team?†asks another. You know where he’s going with that. Bring back Gayle, Simmons, big Bravo, Chanderpaul, Russell and Narine. And since we going that way, Pollard too.
Let’s conveniently overlook the fact that all of the above—except Pollard and Russell, who’s only played one match—have made no meaningful difference to West Indies results in the very recent past in Tests. Yes, there have been some moments of real competitiveness. At the end of the day though, after the dust has settled from the occasional spectacular bits of cricket, we’ve still lost and still lost comfortably in most cases.
So they all make themselves available again. They’re all picked without the nuisance of playing any of our sub-standard first-class cricket in the Caribbean. They show their class in bits and pieces and the West Indies lose once more. Then they’re unavailable because of this T20 thing over here or that T20 thing over there and the selectors fill the spots with players who were tried, dropped to accommodate the returning stars and are now picked again to face, say, Australia in Australia at the end of the year.
That makes a whole lot of sense, doesn’t it? West Indies cricket is locked in a dilemma in which there are no easy choices.
If Phil Simmons wants to have a consultation with the T20 specialists, maybe during the five-week hiatus provided by the Caribbean Premier League beginning at the weekend, that’s fine. However the head coach must have the welfare of West Indies cricket as his priority, not the welfare of any individual cricketer or group of players. His job is to take West Indies cricket upward from the lowly rank it has occupied for more than 15 years.
Maybe it’s a good thing that the CPL is on our doorstep ready to entertain with super sixes and fabulous fours, bright lights and stands packed with beautiful people. Quietly in the background, Simmons and the selection panel headed by Clive Lloyd can formalise the strategy to make the West Indies a more competitive unit at Test level following on the home series against England and Australia.
Lloyd has asked the Caribbean people for patience. But he might just as well have been pleading for clean, respectful campaigning leading up to September 7. Bottom line: it’s not going to happen.
Simmons, Lloyd and the other members of the selection panel (Courtney Walsh, Eldine Baptiste and Courtney Browne) will continue to get cuss as they have been getting cuss over the past fortnight. But if they know what they are doing, and are convinced that they are on the right path, they have to stay the course come what may.
Yes, some players will be found wanting while others will be confirmed to have potential for genuine quality if given the consistent exposure at the highest level that will make them more comfortable in that taxing environment. There’s no other way. All sorts of remedies with a host of personalities have been tried and abandoned for 20 years...and where have they gotten us?
There are tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe coming up following the CPL before West Indies renew acquaintances with Australia at the end of the year. By then, if they’re given a chance, some of those just brushed aside may show themselves to be decent Test cricketers.
And maybe, just maybe, instead of swiping wildly Taylor will be prepared to try and hold on as part of side that is better able to take on the best in the world, even if it takes a while longer to break the losing habit.
