Lara’s captaincy — deal with clinical facts, not emotions

The problem with the West Indies team does not have to do with skill, per se, but stability. It’s not captaincy, but character, culture and consistency. The disturbing paradigm shift must be addressed from the cause-factor angle. This is where Lara must pass the test.

Believe it or not, Pentecostals generally are “cricket freaks”. There is always a direct interest taken in our cricket — and sports as a whole. I know of many believers who make it a point of duty to actually pray for our players. This is good.

I believe recent moves to give the captaincy of the West Indies team to Brian Lara, vice captaincy to Ramnaresh Sarwan and the assistant coach to Gus Logie are basically worthy of applause. Nevertheless, it would be a huge mistake to believe that this will bring some kind of overnight success magic to the team. We are always better off when our approach is clinical, discerning, analytical, and even surgical, rather than emotional, gullible or na?ve in nature.

Lara has held the captaincy before and it turned out a near disaster in which his personal performance and that of the team suffered and correspondingly plummeted. Since then, Lara has managed to have an off-and-on stint on the West Indies team. During this period there have been some bright moments, but for the most part, both the gold and the glitter have been absent.

More lately, there have been a few reasonably bright flashes of the “original Lara” inside and outside of the World Cup series. If you were to ask me (based on my experience in counselling and rehabilitation) I will tell you that a person, such as in Lara’s case, is still at a volatile stage in the recovery process. There is therefore yet considerable risk involved in placing him in the captaincy role at this time. Primarily, things can go either way.

Perhaps the WICB is well aware of the factors affecting personal vulnerability. But its strategy may be to put Lara under the pressures which are inherent in the captaincy responsibilities so as to “force” the best out of him. This can be a fine strategy that works wonders. It can also disastrously backfire if evaluations are significantly flawed. Brain Lara is a Trinidadian. He is a world double record holder in his field. By this and other accomplishment he has made us proud. The first reaction of most Trinbagonian to his regaining the captaincy may therefore be along an emotional line: “Yes! Brian is the man! Now we go see victory for West Indies!”

But after the winds of emotions have blown over and we take a more mature, sober and intelligent perspective of the matter, we would have to conclude that the reality of the challenge goes far deeper than mere nice patriotic sentiments. It deals with hard, clinical facts. Is the problem with the West Indies team really a captaincy one? Will a replacement of Carl Hooper really make a major difference in terms of a forward thrust?

The problem with the West Indies team does not have to do with skill, per se, but stability. It’s not captaincy, but character, culture and consistency. There has been primarily a disturbing paradigm shift in West Indies cricket and this must be addressed from the cause-factor angle.

I will like the highly respected Rev Wes Hall to answer this question: “Do you honestly think that the West Indies players of more recent years have truly taken pride in their cricket as you and your contemporaries did? What about their wholehearted commitment to the cause, and above all, the level of discipline required for the character and consistency necessary for the making of true champions? The honest answer must be, “No”. A less responsible culture has been developing. (Of course, we understand this can also be reflective of a top-level leadership/management problem).

Who says the West Indies could not perform throughout the recent World Cup series with the excellence they demonstrated in their first match? It was certainly possible. But the discipline and commitment to consistency continues to be a big hurdle.

The problem of West Indies cricket must be addressed from the basis of a “culture change”. There has to be a re-shifting (or reversing) of the paradigm. This is where Lara must pass the test. His success in this will be his greatest asset and credential as captain. Not a double world batting record. Apart from mastering basic captaincy strategy, Lara will have to personally provide the character model for his team to emulate. His big challenge would be leading by all-round example. We appreciate Lara’s statement about “two years of introspection to see where I went wrong” and a “dereliction of duty” to turn down the WICB’s offer at this time. But while we remain fully optimistic and supportive of Lara, we must face the fact that we have heard this kind of rhetoric from him before and there was not much to show for it in the end.

I must say though, the WICB is extremely blessed to have a man of the character and calibre of the Rev Wes Hall as its head at this time. Lara is doubly blessed to have him as a friend and mentor. If Rev Hall’s wisdom is heeded, failure will become a virtual impossibility. Finally, let dispassionate judgement and reality rule over emotions. Don’t underrate the West Indies cricket team. But please, please don’t overrate them, (including Lara’s captaincy) either. If you do, you’ll have only yourself to blame for any possible resultant disappointment. May God continue to bless our team.