Tony Becca, Senior Sport Editor
THE West Indies take on Australia in the first Test on Thursday (Wednesday night local time) in Brisbane and hardly anyone expects them to win it or to go on and win the five-match series.
In fact, but for a few who talk about the ball is round and that anything can happen especially if top batsman Brian Lara gets going, West Indians are simply praying that God will be on their side and that the team, the once mighty Windies, will not be humiliated.
One reason for the lack of confidence is the performance away from home in recent times, and another is the performance on the tour so far. The truth, however, is that but for a few, the team lacks quality players.
Ask anyone and he will tell you this team lacks class. He will also tell you this team lacks the commitment and the discipline to even make the best of what it has and in many respects, as was evident in England recently, that is true.
While the players, most of them, are not as good as they used to be, although the commitment and the discipline is not what it used to be, and even though the pride which sometimes leads to unexpected and brilliant performances no longer burns as bright as it used to be, the players are not the only ones to be blamed for the present state of affairs.
So too must all those involved with the game and those with the ability to do something for the development of the game.
Sport, it must be remembered, mirrors a society, and as much as the players have a responsibility to commit and dedicate themselves in the pursuit of excellence, the society also has a responsibility - especially a society like the West Indies to which, based on the words which flow from mouths of the people and the politicians, cricket is so important.
The truth, however, is that like the players, the society has failed as far as its responsibility is concerned.
The players have failed, not so much because of the lack of talent, but more so because of the lack of skill, and their failure to develop their skill is due to their attitude towards training and practice. The society has failed because the people have failed to support the game and to provide the atmosphere that will attract more boys to the game, which will throw up more talented players, and which will ensure the full development of those players.
Years ago, for example, a number of the players now in Australia would not have been there - for the simple reason that in those days cricket was king in the Caribbean, more boys played the game, the competition because of the numbers led to better skills, and the number of skilled players from whom to select was greater.
Today, the numbers of those who play are so few and the skill so limited that a lovely drive through the covers or two deliveries pitched on a good length is enough for fans to announce the coming of another great batsman or another great bowler.
Why is the society guilty of also failing? It is guilty because it is has wandered away from the game and no longer provide the support for the players.
The people stay away and so there is no atmosphere at any level to motivate the players; volunteers are hard to find and so there is no help for the young players; sponsors are few and far between and so facilities are poor; and the respective governments, knowingly or not, have contributed to the decline in skills.
Here in Jamaica, for example, the dwindling support by the people is evident not only at matches, but as Mike Fennell, president of the Jamaica Olympic Association, mentioned on Thursday evening at the annual dinner and awards ceremony of the Kingston Cricket Club, club life is a thing of the past, and it was at the clubs that young players were motivated and groomed.
Here in Jamaica, the dwindling support by the people is evident not only at matches, not only in the clubs, but as was the case at the Jamaica Cricket Board of Control's appreciation get together for the sponsors and the media at the Four Seasons Hotel on Friday night, at everything to do with cricket.
Here in Jamaica, seeking sponsorship for the game is like begging; and here in Jamaica, the government, all of them down the years, have paid nothing but lip service to the game. The game, for example, has been allowed to almost die in schools and although there are many hard courts to facilitate sports like basketball and volleyball scattered around the island, there is hardly a concrete pitch anywhere to accommodate young boys with a bat and a ball who want to play the game.
The West Indies players undoubtedly are not as good as they used to be, but it should be remembered they are products of the society and the society, from top to bottom, has failed them.
Over the years, more so in recent times, the society, but for a few crusaders, has not encouraged young boys to play the game, it has not provided the facilities for them to play and to hone their skills, and it has not provided the atmosphere necessary to motivate them.
Whatever the fortunes of the West Indies team in Australia, during the long nights ahead the people, all who have done nothing or very little to help, should remember that - especially if as expected the team does not win.
Cricket has no divine right to special treatment, but in a society where so many talk about its importance to the people, in a society where so many cuss and quarrel when the team loses, it deserves more attention, and it should get more attention - certainly by those who control the people's money.
