mikesiva wrote:Welcome back, Point....
Yes, the decline of WI cricket can be traced back to the days when our players could no longer play county cricket. To play in England, as a batsman you have to learn how to move your feet, and that ability then means you can adjust to play anywhere in the world. Bowlers also learn how to use overhead conditions to get swing, etc, instead of relying on raw pace.
If that's the case how come England struggle so much against India away? not everything is set in stone Mike.
We're talking about Test cricket, not ODI cricket....
To be a top ODI team, the ideal conditions are subcontinent conditions.
Until recently, England's progress was held back by internal politics. Now, they're the number one Test side in the world.
mikesiva wrote:
We're talking about Test cricket, not ODI cricket....
To be a top ODI team, the ideal conditions are subcontinent conditions.
Until recently, England's progress was held back by internal politics. Now, they're the number one Test side in the world.
Well County cricket has been around for years and you claim it can educate batsmen to play on any surface right? SO HOW COME ENGLAND HAVEN'T WON IN INDIA SINCE 1984?
mikesiva wrote:
We're talking about Test cricket, not ODI cricket....
To be a top ODI team, the ideal conditions are subcontinent conditions.
Until recently, England's progress was held back by internal politics. Now, they're the number one Test side in the world.
Well County cricket has been around for years and you claim it can educate batsmen to play on any surface right? SO HOW COME ENGLAND HAVEN'T WON IN INDIA SINCE 1984?
Come on Mike please enlighten me!! .
Not many teams win in India these days....
Tell me, who does the ICC rank as the number one Test team in the world? India or England?
I know that some of us are very ignorant of the fact that due to the heavy atmosphere in England ; the ball moves about a lot in the air and off the pitches . Here are the stark indisputable facts about our Players and playing Cricket in England , and how it helped their game .
First those who went to England learnt what is meant to be a Professional Cricketer . I recall on one occasion Sobers being interviewed and he stated that they were told where the match was being played . the time the match started , and he as well as others had to get to the ground on their own . In essence they found out what being a professional Cricketer entailed .
The fact that the ball moves about in the air a lot and off the pitches , made batsmen from the
Region quickly understand that if they didnt hit the ball in the middle of the bat they were very likely to perish , by any of the legal rules to be out .
Bowlers learnt the art of making the ball swing about in the air . They also learnt , that Pace like Fire aint everything in bowling . By being Full Time Cricketers , obviously their Mental and Physical Stamina operated at optimum most of the time .
Sadly our current Players dont have those opportunities , and that is easily seen on their performances . My opinion is that Our Players are Part Time Players ; due to the fact that when
not representing the Region or playing in the Regional Tournaments they are essentially . The standard of Cricket in the Region aint nothing to shout about .
The gist of what I am stating is that Playing Cricket in England is very helpful , also in getting acclimatized to the weather . I recall some years ago when the WICB in its infinite wisdom decided to send our Team to play Cricket in England in early Spring , and most of their matches were in the Northern part of England Tony Cozier lambasting our Players because they had their hands in their pockets .
My take is that was a very asinine comment from Cozier . because our Players unlike Sobers ; Kanhai et al never played Cricket in England . Sadly ,apparently that fact some how seemed to have escaped Tony Cozier .
Hi POINT having read a few of your contributions elsewhere on the forum I wondered how come I hadn't observed your participation before... Since then I have been seeking out your 'original post' on the site. Welcome!
Don't know if you have anything to apologose for regarding being absent 'till now' ...
Thanks for your welcome ; I dont profess to know everything , however what I know I generally state on this MB ; and I challenge my critics , to provide credible evidence that I have stated something that is not true . In essence as I have stated elsewhere on this MB , I want them to do that point by point where I have stated something that is untrue .
Just declaring that what I say is Rubbish , without providing factual evidence to support their perspective , is unacceptable to me and I therefore will be inclined not to respond . My hope and expectation and probably those of us who are critics of the WICB ; is that the WICB will take heed and serve the interest of Cricket in the Region better than it is currently doing .
There can be absolutely no doubt that the WICB is the Worst International Cricket Board in the World . It has held that position now for many years ; and I have seen little evidence that those in the WICB are dismayed by this fact . Sure it has picked low hanging fruit , but it still refuses to tackle the important things that can immediately transformed Cricket not only in the Region , but make our Players very competitive in the International Cricket Arena .
Allow me to repeat the essential things that the WICB must tackle . First and foremost there must be a working Partnership between the Players , WIPA & the WICB . My view is that since the WICB is in the governance of Cricket in the Region ; and also the Employer of the Players ; the Onus is more so on the WICB , than the Players & WIPA to make this happen . Unfortunately however , those in the WICB seem stuck in an 18Th Century Time Warp , when there were only Masters and Servants .
The second very important issue is that Our Players do not play enough Cricket at the Regional level , This is precisely why their Mental and Physical Stamina is not as it should be . This impacts on their mental abilities to focus ,in Batting ; Bowling ; Catching ; and Fielding . The solution of these problems are not hard to do . Increasing the duration of the Regional Tournaments is a must ; also also is having Camps of a duration of not less than 3 weeks , with ALL Coaches in attendance . Standford & his Cricket Board proved my point when they had a 6 weeks Camp that transformed their Team to the point where they beat ALL TEAMS THEY FACED
INCLUDING ENGLAND . Sadly the WICB has failed to understand what made Stanford's Players invincible in that series .
Hi POINT thanks for the acknowledgement. POINT, have you reflected on the fact that there is a tendency for some of the topics that you contribute to descend into a sort of slanging match? Because I find it tiresome to follow those topics, i dont follow them. But I do come here to chat with you on your topic so to speak, hope you don't mind.
POINT, what do you think about the game that is currently going on?
The essential points I have been making for over 6 years now are being graphically seen any time our Team lays both Regional & International Matches . I am tired of being repetitive , but the Truth is the Truth .
WE have to acknowledge the fact that our Players are Part Time Cricketers , that is one of the main things that differentiate them from those who played in the Golden Eras of West Indies Cricket , who were Full Time Players . In my opinion there is a vast difference between Full Time Players and Part Time Players . On several occasions I have delved into the significant differences .
The important factors are these ; Players who are Full Time Players , are generally Mentally and Physically focused , their powers of concentration operate at maximum . The end result is that batsmen make lots of runs ; and bowlers get wickets regularly . This is a sort of simplification , but illustrates what I am saying .
Now our current Part Time Players when they are not representing the Region or playing in the Regional Tournaments are essentially . Their performances demonstrate that they are not properly focused Mentally and Physically . Their Stamina can not match that of Players on Teams who are Full Time Players . This in my opinion , is precisely why our Players may win matches against Countries that are ranked above our Team , but it would be difficult for them to win a Series against those Teams . Now what I have observed is that always towards the end of Tours our Players perform better than at the start of Tours . My sensibilities informs me that this happens because they are playing more Cricket than they are accustomed too in the Region .
The other very important factor is the fact that in the Golden Eras of West Indies Cricket , many matches were played before and between the Test Matches , this obviously helped our Players get acclimatized to the weather conditions and also the Pitches . They were also in form and good physical shape .
Unfortunately the advent of the ICC Scheduling Format has truncated Tours so that currently , it is not unusual to find 2 or 3 Teams Touring the host Country . I cite this because currently Teams have to be ready to play from Day 1 of a Tour . This is precisely why I am a strong advocate of our Players having extended Regional Tournaments in all the versions of the game ;
also having Camps of a duration of not less than 3 weeks with ALL Coaches in attendance , to compensate for the fact that our Players are Part Time Cricketers .
Sadly the WICB is oblivious of all that I have stated . It missed the boat to form a Regional Pro or Semi Pro League when our Players were banned from playing Cricket in England . At that time our Players had real Prestige and Worldwide recognition , so in my opinion getting Financial Sponsors would not have been a problem . In the event this was not feasible then it could have extended the Regional Tournaments . IT DID NOTHING .
My recollection is that the last two players the WICB sent to reputable Cricket Academies were
Gayle and Sarwan . Obviously the fact that since then it did not send any promising Players to any reputable Academies is on display in the Regional Matches and also has an impact on our International Team .
I do not criticize the WICB Willy Nilly , my criticisms are based on what the WICB has done and failed to do . those who take umbrage at what I state have never ever produced credible proof that what I state is untrue hurling epithets and being foul mouthed , without being able to refute what I state , I guess makes them believe that they are right , but it is merely a figment of their imagination .
not everything is set in stone Mike.
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