The great Albert Einstein described insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'' If that's the case, the West Indies Cricket Board should be fitted for a straitjacket. Brian Lara is currently in his third stint as captain, and let's just say the third time has not been the charm. The perfect Kodak moment from the Cricket World Cup occurred April 10 after West Indies allowed South Africa to score 356 runs in 50 overs, this after Lara won the toss and put the Proteas in to bat, citing "moisture" in the pitch. After Lara and his inept bunch allowed the mammoth total and returned to the comforts of the pavilion, TV cameras showed Lara joking around with teammate Ian Bradshaw. Remember, this was a do-or-die match for West Indies, and at a moment when Lara should have been hanging his head in shame after his team's tepid effort in the field and his own brain-dead captaincy (he delayed the final power play until the 45th over, helping South Africa amass 134 runs in the final 10 overs), Lara was puzzlingly amused about something.
After West Indies lost the match as expected, Lara said the team did not deserve to be in the semifinals but would play hard in its remaining two matches. Well, thanks Brian, but a little too late, don't you think. I can go through a laundry list of things wrong with West Indies cricket, including the fact some players feel no pressure to perform because they feel they are cemented into the side (for example, had Australia's Matthew Hayden failed as many times in this tournament as Chris Gayle has, he would have been dropped already). Since group play ended, West Indies players have showed no sense of urgency and at times appear utterly indifferent. There also have been reports that several players have been spotted in nightclubs in the wee hours.
Lara's decision-making at times has defied common sense. In the opening Super 8s match against Australia, West Indies got tight bowling in the beginning and it took Hayden 18 balls to get off the mark. Once he did, he constantly went down the pitch to disptach deliveries for boundaries. Lara should have simply told wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to come up to the stumps in order to keep Hayden from advancing. He didn't, and the run-hemmorhaging continued. Lara already has said his one-day career is likely over. But he has helped to remind us that good players don't always make good captains. The great Garry Sobers was a mediocre captain himself.
I am an Indian Cricket fan not a fan of team India.
Brian Lara was right that the team did not deserve a semi final berth. I think not even India and Pakistan ever did.
You would be surprised to learn that before the world cup even got a start most of the people I talked to had already predicted the teams for the Semi - finals namely, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa but no one mentioned India, Pakistan or West Indies.
I have always admired Brian Lara and Chanderpaul as players and am sad that they did not have much to celebrate. This was a big opportunity for the team.
All is not lost as the first Twenty20 Cricket Championship is round the corner and these teams can prove something.
Posted by: Sohrab | April 18, 2007 at 05:12 AM