West Indies’ Twenty20 honeymoon is over.
And they should understand that fans are back on their case because they aren’t pleased with most of the results since then.
I am not surprised about the tongue-lashing they are receiving because it is human nature to have a negative reaction to failure plus we are traditional weather cocks going in whatever direction the wind is blowing.
Knee-jerk reactions are, therefore, par for the course.
More to the point, the team’s current failing grade speaks to the truism that in sports you are as good as your last performance. What have you done for me lately seemingly becomes the only relevant factor in the evaluation process.
All of us in our various endeavours are judged with the same yardstick so the West Indies shouldn’t expect to be exceptions to the rule.
I, too, feel the despair of the average supporter and must confess that I am hurting from the 5-0 One-Day whitewash just dished out by Australia.
In an effort to be objective, you have to decide whether to give the Australians credit for being dominant or ask ourselves whether the West Indies played with the level of morale and purpose expected of a team that is eager to be counted among the game’s elite in all forms of play like back in the day.
It seems to me that the West Indies never regained full confidence after being routed for a meagre 79 in the first game. We keep hearing that Australia are no push-overs, particularly in their own backyard, and they would have regarded that lame performance by our boys as the licence to kill for the rest of the series.
To their credit, they came at the West Indies with sustained aggression in both batting and bowling while we humbly caved in most of the time like lambs to the slaughter.
It probably was more of a mind thing but that’s where you win and lose matches. If you can’t disguise fear of the enemy your goose is cooked in the middle.
I didn’t get the impression that the West Indies as a unit had a strong enough will to compete and resist the cocky, all conquering Australians. I didn’t see enough backbone and intestinal fortitude among the batsmen in particular.
Naturally, the team would look to Chris Gayle to create confidence at the top of the order but the normally swashbuckling Jamaican fell meekly in the battle and it could have impacted significantly on the rest of the team.
There are times when, no matter how good a player you are, you can’t seem to buy a run and I believe Gayle is going through one of those phases. Let’s face it, his form was rotten in the recent Big Bash and continued into the One-Day series.
His critics, of course, deduced from it all that the bowlers had worked him out and he became a dead duck; his limitations having been exposed. If he didn’t before, he knows now that he is as good as his last innings.
Ramnaresh Sarwan might want to forget his return to international cricket and his near two-year hiatus brought with it the rust that was clear for all to see.
I say that against the background that he has gotten scores against the Australians in the past. It is not an excuse but clearly a better effort in his role as a senior player would have helped the situation significantly.
It is also true that the absence of the injured Marlon Samuels was a grave loss in the context that he has been our most consistent batsman since his second coming.
Generally, the bowlers also found their task too demanding and they will also have to apply some introspection to their respective contributions.
Not unexpectedly, some are murmuring whether there are mixed vibes in the dressing room but it is a delivery I choose to leave alone because it could be implying that coach Ottis Gibson and Darren Sammy aren’t getting the full support of the players and nobody knows for sure.
I don’t think Gibson would have extended his contract if he didn’t feel comfortable in the environment or if he wasn’t satisfied that he has something to work with going forward.
Suffice to say, that the team has made some positive strides in the last three years and the recent Australian experience should be treated as a temporary reversal in fortunes. It is just a matter of going back to the drawing board, refocusing and retooling for forthcoming assignments.
I don’t see the need to press panic buttons. The task of rebuilding West Indies cricket to giant status is still very much a work in progress.
Andi Thornhill is an experienced award-winning freelance sports journalist. Email [email protected]
