Dear Editor,

Some time ago, I promised myself that I would refrain from commenting on the parlous state of West Indies cricket (not that anyone would be interested in anything I had to say). And over the years, despite the obvious temptations, I have stuck to that promise.

It was hard because cricket is a game I have been passionate about from the earliest memories that I can conjure up. I remember being so focussed on cricket that at one stage in high school I completely forgot about an upcoming mock exam because my team — Clarendon College — was preparing for a key Headley Cup match. I also remember the mornings I would be falling asleep in class because of sitting up most of the night listening to commentary on Test matches between the West Indies and Australia from ‘Down Under’.

I have resisted commenting for the simple reason that very few people involved with West Indies cricket seem to genuinely care about the sport and seem to be motivated only by their narrow, personal agendas.

However, two recent comments by two people closely connected with West Indies cricket have cemented in my mind my opinion about the calibre of people we have involved in the game in the region.

While the comments are not central to the game, I ask you if they do not reveal that there is something critically lacking in those we have chosen to represent us on and off the field — even at a basic level.

The first comment was from Mr Otis Gibson, the present coach of the team. In a recent interview about the West Indies’ chances in the current Indian tour, the talk turned to a discussion on the outstanding Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. In what appears to be an attempt to dismiss this great player, Mr Gibson said that he was not aware that Mr Tendulkar needed only one century to reach 100 international centuries.

This from the coach of one of the traditional Test-playing countries who should be following, and scouting the performances of the players of the opposing team(s); a coach who should be reading the newspapers and following cricket on radio and television as a matter of course. I wonder what rock he has been living under. I would take a guess that even schoolchildren in Siberia knew this.

The second comment was from Mr Darren Sammy, the captain of the West Indies cricket team. In one of his tiresome, repetitive after-loss interviews, he declares: “…if we had made more runs in the second innings, it would have been a different game.” Duh!

Mr Sammy, almost every time a match is lost in this fashion, the opposing captain could make the same claim. As a matter of fact, Mr Sammy, I’ll let you in on a little secret — if my mother had wheels she could be a bus.

I feel like I have betrayed myself by going back on my self-imposed resolve not to comment on West Indies cricket, but these two were just a little bit too much to take. I was biting my tongue so hard, it was starting to bleed.

And yes, I did pass the mock exam.

Errol K Miller

Errol.miller@lime.com