‘Rock bottom’

“A debacle.” “Atrocious.” “A bunch of misfits.”

Those are just some of the expressions used by cricket enthusiasts to describe the performance of the West Indies following their disastrous showing in the third Test against Australia at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, yesterday.

Set 204 runs to make in their second innings, the West Indies team succumbed in humiliating fashion, being bowled out for 27 runs, one run above the all-time lowest score of 26 runs.

Curtis Myrie, journalist/marketer and a member of the Caribbean Cricket chat group, pulled no punches in criticising the team’s performance.

“I do believe that the West Indies cricket Test team has been caught in that position time and again as misfits who have to be developed,” said Myrie.

He called for a mentorship programme for young cricketers throughout the region, and suggested that legends of the game in the West Indies be used for such a project.

“We need the legends of West Indies cricket to sit with the young players to swap stories and talk about how the game is played. I am not suggesting that they take over the management of the team, but to bring their insight and knowledge and share these with young cricketers,” he said.

Myrie said that the development of the red-ball game has to be paramount, as this will lead to development in other facets of the game.

“There can be no public-private sector buy-in or audience participation until the red-ball aspect of the game is developed, leading to enhanced skills sets,” he said.

According to Myrie, the longer this aspect of the game is not developed, will be the longer it will take for West Indies cricket to get back to where it needs to be.

Noted fast bowler Andy Roberts told The Gleaner that he did not watch the game and so could not comment specifically on the performance at Sabina Park which left tongues wagging yesterday.

However, he believes that there are too many square pegs being fitted into oblong holes.

“Cricket has come to a standstill, and new people are needed to lead West Indies cricket,” Roberts said.

Andrew Mason, an international cricket commentator and a member of the Caribbean Cricket chat group, called for manager Daren Sammy to step down, saying that while the performance was not unexpected, it was still dispiriting.

According to Mason, the West Indies batting is a major concern and steps must be taken to remedy this.

“Daren Sammy should do the decent thing and step down,” Mason told The Gleaner.

He praised the performance of the West Indies bowlers, and the crowd that attended the match, but said the selectors and the batting coaches must shoulder the blame for the debacle that transpired.

Mason does not believe that Cricket West Indies has taken the job of cricket development seriously.

Jamaican retired journalist Stan Reynolds said that in his almost 50 years of watching cricket, he has never seen anything like what occurred at Sabina Park.

“Unfortunately, I had to watch it today. The batsmen showed a lack of discipline, as the players do not look like they know how to bat,” he told The Gleaner.

He said the only word he could find to described what took place was “atrocious”.

Noting that the bowlers did their jobs, Reynolds said that the batsmen were out of their depth.

“The players appear to be on par with each other so whomever they select, the outcome would be the same,” he said.

According to Reynolds, West Indies should give up playing Test cricket for the time being and concentrate on rebuilding the side.

“The good thing is that West Indies has no more Test cricket until later in the year when they visit India, and the visit could lead to another embarrassment,” he said.

Aubrey Campbell, who hosts a one-hour sports programme on radio in the United States, was also very critical of the performance.

“The decline in West Indies cricket has been apparent for sometime now, and no steps have been taken to remedy the situation. Maybe the time has come to look seriously at the selectors and the coaches, especially the batting coaches, and make adjustments,” he said.

He said the administrators don’t have their fingers on what is going on.

Campbell also felt that the players are not committed enough to West Indies cricket.

Super cricket fan Linford Burrell’s reaction to the West Indies score was, “Lord, have mercy.”

“It is a shame that a West Indies cricket team cannot make 50 runs in this day and age,” he told The Gleaner.

As far as he is concerned, the selection of the team has to be the problem, and maybe the selectors should step aside.

“West Indies cricket has hit rock bottom and drastic action is needed,” he said.

editorial@gleanerjm.com

See related story in Section B