Back to pre-Stanford cricket

Mr Stanford’s boast “WI cricket is back” was just that — a big boast! True to form WI cricket is back — back to its ineffective performances, stealing “defeat” from the “jaws of victory” with their usual sloppy fielding, loose bowling, taking stupid singles and “calypso-collapso” batting. It is obvious to everyone that the only motivation these fellows understand is money, and this lip service of “wanting to get WI cricket back on track” and “pride in playing for WI” is wearing very thin now.

I support cricketers being paid, but not the same for bad performances. Why can’t the WI Board pay them a salary and motivate them by offering extra for good “performance”, since it is obvious they only give that extra effort if money is waved in their faces.

Be firm and discipline them like the Stanford Board who deducted money for ‘no balls’ bowled even in net practice, and for any breach of curfew or lack of effort.

The $20 million US offered for one match is grossly obscene, and these rich folk are only ‘prostitutionalising’ (sic) the game of cricket and making these young people only consider the money and not the real game of cricket. 20/20 may be very entertaining, but it is not true cricket, just a glorified ‘fete match.’ Mr Stanford’s donation of funds to the islands to improve their facilities is very commendable, but if he really wants to help WI cricket, spend the money and build an academy or more than one, where these youngsters can learn the true basic strokes, how to plan and build an innings, to concentrate under pressure, to bowl sensibly and learn to be disciplined.

The three one-day matches versus Pakistan was a revelation of my points. After seeing how enthusiastically they played the 20/20 match, it was appalling to see the sloppy fielding, stupid run outs, overthrows, colliding in the field, bad batting and real loose bowling, and no ability to ‘think’ of what was required and play with some guts and determination. The selection of the team itself left much to be desired. Wicket-keeping is a speciality position and C Baugh’s glove work is far inferior to D Ramdin, and I am yet to see his batting as any better either. The series was already lost so why couldn’t the extra players be given a chance to play in the last game, as they sure could not have done any worse.

S KELSICK

St Ann’s