Rehab

Written by Jonathan Cumberbatch

Friday, 28 December 2007

It is often difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that prior to the Windies' first Test series tour of South Africa in 1998/1999, they sat well ensconced as the world's second best Test team with the 3-1 defeat of England at home earlier in the year suggesting that a return to the top was an eventuality.

An ill-advised industrial action led by team leaders Lara and Hooper (and bungled further by the board) seismically split the team - some argue this remains to this day with some (e.g. Chanderpaul) being pro nation/Board and others (e.g. Gayle) pro player/ players association - and, in its wake, the Windies soon possessed their first series whitewash. In the next seven seasons, before the first shocked and then indifferent eyes of its collective citizenry, more white paint buckets would be handed out to its variable opponents as the cricket nation of the 20th Century astonishingly became the new century's laughing stock.

As a long-time supporter, I still recall awakening and literally rubbing my eyes to take in the series of dismal match scores and scenarios the television screen reported as actual fact. So traumatic was that tour that many colleagues still refuse to discuss it.

With the team again returning to the scene of the crime (and actually off to a promising start) perhaps it is indeed time to begin discussing what went wrong and has seemed to taint the team to this day. All teams have divisions - Shane Warne's recent outbursts suggest Australia are no different to their more volatile peers in Pakistan - but with no firm leadership available to build substantial bridges (perhaps Lara's one great failure), and continued legal action between the player's association (WIPA) and the Board, it does not take a sociologist to tell you that the brew the Windies continue to create remains a bitter and unproductive one.

Lara, Adams and Hooper all grew disgusted with the atmosphere. This aspect, coupled with patent unprofessionalism (aptitude, diet, match fitness all wanting by most according to Coach Bennet King's final team report) can reap nothing in today's ever demanding professional world of sport.

The way forward, a clear uncompromised vision and mission to be the best, easy for me to write but now so complicated to fulfill as this now requires agents untouched by the existing 'radioactivity' and apathy. Who really means what they say? New Board CEO, Mr. Julien Hunte, has requested the WIPA president sit on the Board and this has been accepted. He has also expedited all outstanding settlements and the hope of the diaspora is that the required trust is now sufficiently tangible to place full focus on this game that once defined us.

(Click here to know more Jonathan Cumberbatch)

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