West Indies head coach Daren Sammy didn’t filter his words when he likened the decline of Test cricket in the Caribbean to “cancer” in the system developing over a long period of time.
Sammy, the two-time T20 World Cup-winning skipper, reckons that role models in the shortest format are readily available for the next generation, and that they can only play with the resources that are available to them.
However, Sammy offered his perspective in hard-hitting words when it comes to the Test format.
“I mean, last time we won a Test series in 1983, my mother had me,” Sammy said in jest about 42 years of not winning a red-ball series in India.
“I know now I’m under the microscope. I’m in the middle, and we’re open to criticism, to be criticised by everybody. But the root of the problem didn’t start two years ago. It’s something that started way back,” he added.
“It’s like a cancer that’s already in the system. If you do get cancer, you know what happens. And, again, it’s breast cancer month. So, it’s a good way to put it. That our problems don’t lie on the surface. It’s rooted deep into our system,” he continued.
West Indies suffered an innings and 140-run defeat at the hands of India in the first Test match at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad last week.
The Caribbean side struggled in their first innings, posting only 162 runs on the board. In reply, the hosts declared their first innings on 448/5 with a sizeable lead of 286 runs.
The visiting batters endured failures in the second dig as well, with their innings folding for 146 runs. The match ended in just two and a half days as India gained an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
The lack of fight disappointed the legendary Brian Lara so much that he questioned the current West Indies players’ commitment to Test cricket.
“We could only work with what we have and who’s willing. The inability to match some of the franchises across the world has been an issue,” Sammy was candid in his admission.
“But what I always tell these guys, if we complain about not having the best facilities, not having enough manpower like the other teams, not having the best technology, all these things that the other teams are superior to us, it’s no secret.
“The difference in the different teams, the top 3-4 teams in the world versus the bottom four. We’ve been struggling with finances for a long time. That’s one of the reasons why Brian (Lara), Shiv (Chanderpaul) they’re going to have this event this afternoon. Trying to see if we can get sponsors to help in some of the areas that we need improvement.”
All that Sammy can do is ask a player if he wants to be available. “With that said, that has created, I wouldn’t say loopholes, but for me as a coach when I call a player and I tell him that he’s been selected for West Indies. And I’m hoping that he accepts the selection.”
Sammy also lamented the fact that when West Indies was the best team in the world, it couldn’t press home the commercial benefits like India leveraged upon becoming a global leader.
“We’re playing five Test matches, four months in one place, entertaining the world, where other boards benefitted. So, for now, when we, over the years, whether it be through lack of management, backlash, whatever it is, we are in need of those financial resources to help us grow and move forward,” he remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)
