Lend a helping hand to the Windies...

When I was in school, there was a professor who said something that I will never forget: "When you laugh, the whole world laughs with you; and when you cry, you cry alone."

I could never fathom the gravity of his words at that tender age. However, when I look back and recollect his words I realize that there can be nothing truer than what he had said. It is very true (and a very despicable human trait) that we tend to stick to a person when all is well and do not even give a passing glance when the weather gets rough.

During the course of our lives, intentionally or accidentally, we are all guilty of the same.

I write this in context with the current state of West Indies cricket. Their decline (and decline is too mild a word) from the top has been steady and sure. The mighty surely have fallen. That we are doing nothing to stem this rot is probably in congruence with our dark side. As a cricket fan, it is disheartening to see them flounder and sink without any semblance of fight. However, what hurts most is the fact that at this very critical stage there is no helping hand coming forward.

Twenty summers back even the worst critic of Caribbean cricket could not have conjured up an image as dismal as it is today. The islands produced cricketers who graced the game with poise and left a benchmark that many still find hard to emulate. Talent flowed freely as the 'Caribbean Rum' and yes, it intoxicated legions of cricket fans all over the cricketing world.

"Nothing is permanent except change," said a Greek philosopher; and yes, the times surely have changed for the worse as far as Caribbean cricket is concerned.

We are all very much aware of the fact that West Indian players are paid peanuts. Moreover, basketball, with its concomitant dollar dreams, never fails to lure young men away from cricket. The problem is compounded by the very fact that no proper infrastructure is available and there are not many people who are keen to invest their money on a team that cannot promise favorable results.

I would never buy the argument that talent has dried out in the Caribbean islands. That a country which boasted of greats like Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Michael "Whispering Death" Holding, to name a few, is finding it hard to present a 'Playing Eleven' which can compete well is something imperceptible to me.

It is here I feel that countries like India, Australia, England, South Africa etc have a very big role to play. Considering the infrastructure and the kind of money their respective cricket boards have, it would be a kind gesture if many young West Indian players were awarded scholarships to the NCA, ACA etc. If the governing body of the game, the ICC, can pool some money for development programs in the Caribbean, it would help the cause a great deal. If the available talent is properly groomed in these 'Finishing Schools' then we may see changes for the better.

Alas, no such help is coming forward. Plans to set up a cricket academy in the West Indies are still very nascent and might never take off due to paucity of funds.

There exist many cricketers and officials of cricket boards who derive great pleasure in the dismal performance of the West Indians. They reason saying that in their heyday, Lloyd's men gave no quarter to the opposition and that it is only poetic justice that the wheel has come a full circle. Such sadistic and perverse thinking on the part of many influential men has really fettered any hand that might have offered some help.

The prosperity of the game and its spread to places other than that of former British colonies is reflected by the health of the playing nations. Moreover, we must accept the fact that cricket is not popular in most parts of the world. Only a handful of countries play cricket. The quality of Test cricket being played is something that is a cause for concern too. Australia is probably playing in another plane, another dimension… absolutely flawless. South Africa's very vocal claim of being as good as the Aussies, if not better, was muted with clinical precision. England are still dreaming about Botham's Ashes and are resting on laurels that have seen 20 winters pass by. Pakistan promise so much with an embarrassing riches of talent but fail to produce the results. The Black Caps are yet to come to terms with the loss of Sir Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe. Sri Lanka and India have consistently managed to maintain an appalling overseas record, though it must be said that the former are marginally better tourists than the latter. Zimbabwe came into the scene as babies and though they try to walk, more often than not, they end up crawling. The less said about Bangladesh the better.

In this context, it is of great significance that we help in restoring West Indian cricket to its past glory, as one must never ever forget that the islands have produced men who were tremendous crowd-pullers. Men like Clive Lloyd have been great ambassadors for not only West Indian cricket but also for world cricket. These men could draw huge crowds because of their amazing talent, and they added an element of calypso flair to the game. Their approach to game may have offended many purists as they did not care much for conventions and it would not be incorrect if one said that they played for the gallery. If West Indian cricket is brought back on track then it would do a lot towards improving the health of world cricket by rekindling spectator interest in quality Test cricket.

If we overcome our petty differences and take the first step towards refurbishing West Indian cricket, it would mark the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the game. The efforts will take some time to fructify but when they would the cymbals shall clash loud and hard and yes, the cricketing fans would dance to the reggae, and Calypso cricket would shine once again… as it did not long ago… .

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Mail Ganesh Krishnamurthy