Dear Editor,

In order to prove to myself that I am still loyal to the West Indies team, I suffered and winced through their match with Pakistan last week. By the sixth over, my mind started to wander to when I was a young boy. I was in class at York Castle High School blissfully engaged in what I did best – daydreaming – and was startled by the teacher who told me to report to the principal’s office. Always suspicious of that place, I approached it nervously. “Relax, Tucker,” invited the principal, “it’s not another detention.”. He told me that I would be part of a group selected to attend some sessions conducted by the national cricket coach, Dickie Fuller. I returned to class and the daydreaming began in earnest.

After introducing himself, Mr Fuller said his first task was to teach us the very basic rules for anyone who wants to be a batsman. At the end of that session, he said,” If you learn these rules and get them in here,” tapping his skull, “it will be almost impossible for anyone to get you out, there,” he said, pointing to the pitch. You can imagine the anguish I felt when batsmen on the West Indies team – at the height of the game – were losing their wickets by demonstrating an ignorance of the basics I learnt at 14.

We have been blaming boards and coaches for decades, but when are we going to look elsewhere for solutions? It was interesting to hear all the pre-match predictions. Optimism because “Gayle is back”. For those who wondered why I did not share their optimism, here is why. Christopher Gayle is a tall, powerful man whose bat frequently connects with whatever is heading his way, and that includes the ball. And that is really all that one can truthfully say about Gayle. He seems to have an unusual aversion to thinking, and is oblivious of the fact that there are 11 people on the field, strategically placed with one objective – to get him out. Look at his statistics! I mean, look at them through the eyes of an analyst! When last has he made a good score against a good team? When last has he dug us out of a difficult situation and taken us to victory?

Isn’t it about time that all the players start to make a contribution regardless of who else is on the team? Everybody seems to be waiting on the least reliable player to save the team. Does this make sense? I have even heard the word “great” used to describe him. In my book, however, the most critical indicator of greatness is consistency – another word absent from Gayle’s vocabulary. He behaves like a man who refuses to put any money in his account because he made a large deposit a few months earlier.

I am of the view that there are players in the region who can form the nucleus of a good team. The problem is not the assorted excuses we mindlessly give. I think we have a deficiency in character. Our players are drawn from populations where men are seriously deficient in some important personal traits. Our men are just not capable of sustained effort – worse, mental effort. What is lacking on the field is not skill. It is what it takes to demonstrate those skills in a disciplined way on a continuous basis. It’s not a coach that is needed. It’s a psychologist.

We should not abandon our team. But we need to inject advice based on informed thinking into that support. We need to send clear signals that each player needs to see himself as having an obligation to the region, get up off his derriere and get whatever help is needed on his own. If I sound angry, it’s because for some of us, cricket is not just cricket.

Glenn Tucker

Kingston 9

glenntucker2011@gmail.com