Back to Work

I did not get around to writing anything this past week. I kept having ideas for posts but I also kept procrastinating when it came to writing. One of my posts was supposed to be about the WICB, the report of the Cricket Committee and WIPA and I still hope to do it.

I went to the podiatrist today and got the all clear so I go back to work tomorrow- exactly 6 months to the date I went on leave. Six months of inactivity and lack of sun also mean I am about 15-20 pounds heavier and rather pale! I have mixed feelings about going back to work. While I am glad to be able to leave my apartment like normal, I am not enthused about my job or the UN. The Foreign Service can be a demoralising place to work and while to outsiders overseas postings seem glamorous and exciting, the reality is totally opposite.

The Madness Continues

The farcical drama that our cricket has been reduced to continues to play itself out in front of the world. The idiots that call themselves the WICB decided to censure Chris Gayle for critical comments he made about the Board a few days ago in his tour diary. Gayle’s refusal to apologise led to the censure. The West Indies Players Association then came to Gayle’s defence, revealing that the article was vetted by the tour manager as part of normal protocol and approved. Guess who met Gayle along with Ken Gordon to discuss the issue before Gayle was censured: the tour manager Michael Findlay. What does this make the Board and Findlay look like: bloody fools!

Chris Gayle has been a failure with the bat and doesn’t even deserve a place on the team furthermore the captaincy. He needs to do his talking on the field with the bat and with a change of attitude. However, I must admit the comments he made were totally correct: the Board has no legitimate authority to demand anything of the players when it is the reason for the mess we are in. It is rather large of the Board to speak of Gayle embarrassing it; every member of the Board should resign and apologise to the West Indian people for what they have done to the one regional institution that was a success.

Read two articles on cricinfo.com here (1 and 2) and one from the UK Telegraph here on the whole fiasco.

West Indian Turmoil and a Sri Lankan Demolition Job

Sri Lanka completely dismantled the New Zealanders today to reach their second World Cup final. It was an outstanding performance and they dominated from the time they won the toss and decided to bat. Any attempts by New Zealand to fight back were strongly resisted and the captain led from the front with a perfect example of how to pace a one day international innings. He followed that up with some excellent captaincy, reflected by his decision to bowl Dilshan when New Zealand was trying to wrestle control after the loss of two wickets. Besides Jayawardene’s performance, that of the umpires and in particular Rudy Koertzen stood out but for differing reasons. Two extremely poor decisions went against the Sri Lankans when they were batting and I find it hard to believe that two top umpires can make such huge mistakes. Koertzen added to his howler in Sri Lanka’s innings by denying them an extremely close LBW call and then singling out Fernando for shocking treatment. To warn a bowler twice in his first over for running onto the pitch without speaking to him before was a bit harsh and I felt that New Zealand was playing with 12 men on their side today! While Fernando had a bad day at the office, the rest of Sri Lanka's varied attack all did well. Vaas bowled his normal line and length, Malinga was fiery and Muralitharan hiw wily self; will this bowling attack be enough to stop the Aussies in the finals? I am assuming that they will beat South Africa tomorrow although I would so love to be wrong!

While the Sri Lankans celebrate, West Indies cricket continues its downward spiral. Lara’s retirement was followed by the resignation of the coach Bennett King and rumours that the WICB President, Ken Gordon, had also resigned. Ken Gordon has since stated that he has not resigned but there has been confusion over the selection of the team to tour England, with Gordon, in response to Lara’s comments in his press conference that he had met with selectors to select the team to England and had selected himself, claiming that the selectors did not meet to select a team. To add to all of this, the WICB and WIPA are locked in another battle; this time it is over the WICB seemingly going back on its agreement with WIPA on the status of the England tour in relation to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme.

Amongst all of this, Ian Bradshaw has announced his retirement. Bradshaw may not be the most naturally gifted player in the team, but he has made the most of his abilities, is a thinking cricketer and has shown total commitment to the West Indies. The West Indies waited until Ridley Jacobs was in his 30s before deciding to select him and it is obvious that they did not learn from that situation for they waited until Bradshaw was 30 before handing him a maroon cap. All manner of undisciplined, uncommitted players were given a chance but Bradshaw, a shining example of hard work, discipline and civilised behaviour was kept out. When he was finally given the chance he performed admirably. Unfortunately his form dipped in this World Cup and he only played three matches. West Indies needs many more players with his attitude.

So what does the future hold for our cricket? I am, to be honest, pessimistic. The WICB cabal/politburo has stubbornly resisted any type of meaningful reform and continues to function almost like a secret society. Unless there is a revolution in the way the game is run in the region, our cricket will fail to lift itself from the lowest ground it has now reached. Rawle Brancker was supposed to deliver the Sir Frank Worrell Lecture tonight on the topic of the WICB. I am looking forward to hearing what he said.