Hassanali happy Sir Viv goes

FYZUL HASSANALI, brother of former President of Trinidad and Tobago, Justice Noor Hassanali, has launched his second book on cricket — Captain Out, All Out. This was on Saturday, with the occasion managed by All Sports Promotions and Anthony Harford doing the honours. This is a sequel to his first book, Captaincy in Cricket, produced years  after the author played cricket for South Trinidad and had a distinguished career as captain of Oxford Club for several seasons. Hassanali, was recently vocal in his call to remove Sir Vivian  Richards as chairman of the WICB Selection Committee. This came after the Antiguan’s public outburst when the West Indies were  defeated by England in the Third Cable and Wireless Test in the Caribbean earlier this year. Hassanali stated that Richards should have had a quiet meeting with  the players and in a motivational fashion whipped them up to perform much better.

Instead Richards is reported to have said: “Some of the young players are going backwards.” And, “We are not learning as quickly as we should...” Hassanali had stated at that time: “Such harsh criticisms would be very upsetting not only to the inexperienced players, but even more importantly, to the captain of the team whose leadership style has always been sympathetic, constructive and motivational.” Hassanali had said of Sir Viv: “He displayed a retrograde management technique which can cause considerable damage to the team’s morale and should resign forthwith, instead of being asked by the WICB Administration to do so.” He is more than pleased that Sir Viv is no longer chairman of the WICB Selectors. Hassanali hopes that his book, Captain Out, All Out, would be used extensively by cricket clubs especially in Trinidad and Tobago so that they would be inspired to excel in the game.

This they must do, states Hassanali, with a sense of dedication and enthusiasm that would help the West Indies get back to the top rung of the international cricket ladder. As for Brian Lara, captain of the WI team, Hassanali said: “Give him space to do the job as he was recalled to do for he has the genius and the capacity to succeed.” Of Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, who broke Courtney Walsh’s Test bowling record, Hassanali said: “He continues to be a hunted man not by talent scouts, however, but by cricketing officials of other countries who consider him a threat to creating bowling history that would remain on the books for decades.” Justice Anthony Lucky said of the author: “His experience and knowledge of almost every aspect of the game is demonstrated  in each chapter of the book and in this era in which good leaders are crucial to sustained development, Hassanali uses the role of the captain to demonstrate the qualities of the leader emphasising the responsibility of the leader/captain to his players and vice versa.”

“Under the captain, who is first among equals, the players would be expected to display courage and that sense of commitment and responsibility to assure the captain that he has a potential vice-captain in each member of the team,” Hassanali said. “The captain will, of course, try to learn everything possible about each member of the team — his background, level of education, temperament, strengths, and where he needs to improve and will help him to manage his sporting and personal challenges and in addition must foster team spirit and teamwork,” Hassanali  added.