Time to penalise bad cricket

THE EDITOR: The grit and determination shown by Sarwan and Chanderpaul in scoring centuries on the fourth day went a long way to compensate for the pathetic display by the West Indian team on the third day of the Second Test versus South Africa. The poor fielding, dropped catches and wayward bowling emphasised the typical attitude of these players, good one day and horrid the next. One of the commentators aptly summed up the situation when he said the difference in the teams was that South Africa are more professional and disciplined. There is a stark contrast in the all-out effort of the South Africans in the field to the lackadaisical attitude of the West Indies (with few exceptions), also their consistent bowling and application when batting.

Trying to get this generation of cricketers to revere or appreciate the greats of the 60s and 70s is a waste of time. This is a new breed, who, whether it is self confidence or ego, think they are already great and do not know the meaning of professionalism or dedication to work on problems in their technique, be it batting or bowling, or getting themselves fit. All past coaches have been unable to control these players, Roberts, Kanhai, etc have all complained that they do not listen, but all that is done is the change of coach. The only thing this generation respects is money, and I continue to advocate that the only way to get them to improve is to hit them where it hurts the most by instituting systems of fines for dropped catches, misfielding, wides and no balls bowled, etc, and award them for centuries, five wicket hauls etc. Everyone can see that our bowling attack is the weak link. There is a myth that the West Indies can only win with pace bowlers so spin bowlers are not encouraged or given much support. In the days when we had good fast bowlers this might have been true, but these youngsters are like school boys who just want to “bowl fast” with no thought for direction or consistency.

If a spin bowler is hit for a lot of runs he is dropped, but these supposed fast bowlers, who also get hit for a lot of runs, are picked time and time again. One forgets the Ramadins, Valentines or Gibbs of the past, particularly the latter who could consistently bowl a ball on a dime time and time again. Can you see these bowlers being professional enough to systematically practice until they can bowl to hit a designated spot consistently?

My other grouse is with the fitness of the players. If the West Indies team were like Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, who play cricket day in and day out, I could understand them breaking down, but the West Indies have not played International cricket since last year July versus Australia and Sri Lanka, apart from a few Red Stripe games, yet from the first match on this tour in Zimbabwe we see players falling like flies — strained side, back, shoulder, pulled hamstrings etc. Again I feel if players were true professionals they would not wait for the two week camp before a tour to try and get in condition, their own personal pride should make them want to get and stay fit all year.

RICHARD SORILLO
Belmont