GANGA POINTS THE WAY

West Indies opening batsman Darren Ganga approach to former WI opener, Desmond Haynes, for help with his batting is a recognition not only that he requires assistance but that he must be and is prepared to seek it. Ganga’s move should be a guide both to other West Indies players and others knocking at the selectors’ door, and to the West Indies Cricket Board of Control (WICB), that the expertise of Haynes and other WI cricketing greats should be sought to assist present and upcoming West Indies cricketers.

In this way the weaknesses of all too many Caribbean cricketers can be identified and corrected and pointers provided on how to move ahead and to stay ahead. But any WICB sponsored training programme must be a continuous process and the Region’s cricket board should not be satisfied merely with the showing of improvement, but set achievement targets. The West Indies Cricket Board should not assume that the West Indies’ victories over Bangladesh in the recent One Day Internationals and two-Test series are an indication that the Region is once more ready to regain the mantle of leadership in World cricket. Neither should it allow itself to be deluded that the positive response of the West Indies Test team to WI captain Brian Lara’s admonition that either it won the Second Test or that there was the likelihood of his quitting as skipper can be repeated against England, for example, in the upcoming series.

Bangladesh is at the bottom of the Test ladder and the West Indies players have gained literally zero by beating the Bangladeshis. Indeed, the wonder should be that Bangladesh should have been able to put up such great resistance in the One Day Internationals and in the First Test. The WICB and the burden of WI Test players should do as Darren Ganga has done and admit that professional help is needed and the Board set about securing that assistance. In turn, it should be prepared to shelve its somewhat awkward policy that the only persons it will allow in its coaching programmes for the players are those who hold coaching certificates.

Ganga has demonstrated to the WICB and to the broad mass of followers of cricket in the Caribbean that what is important is not needless dwelling on shortcomings but in seeking to have them dealt with professionally and effectively and then move on. Ganga has pointed the way forward for West Indies cricket, it is for the West Indies Cricket Board to “trump and follow suit.”