Dear Editor,
Dr Rudi Webster is a renowned sports psychologist who knows a lot about West Indies cricket. Sometime last year, Dr Webster observed that the West Indies team often displayed "a fear of winning" or words to that effect. Those of us who have watched the team carefully during the last 18 months or so would have noticed how frequently the team has given up strong positions whether batting or fielding, to end with defeat rather than victory. Often, what has taken place in such circumstances can be described as an implosion. Naturally, these implosions take the form of an individual or individuals taking injudicious actions while batting, or failing to remove ordinary opposition batsmen by failing to maintain line and length while bowling, or fielding poorly.
Administrators, commentators and fans tend therefore to excoriate the player or players for lack of character. Strangely, the administrators do not appear to see any connection between what Dr Webster has observed and what so often happens on the field.
I do not wish to pretend more expertise than I actually have, but it does seem obvious that many of the team's problems do not arise from lack of skill. Put more simply, it should not be almost always easier to get out high-quality batsmen than numbers eight and nine; and good West Indies batsmen should not so often get out while set, by making rash strokes.
Psychology is no longer an exotic practice. It is a recognised science that is widely used in several facets of life.
I am baffled by the unwillingness of West Indies cricket administrators to incorporate sports psychology as an integral part of West Indies cricket with a view to improving the winning percentage in international encounters.
The odds are very high that it will bear fruit.
We have gone through a long period when we explained all failures by lack of commitment from players. But administrators really do not try hard enough to help players; commentators do not even pay close attention to their performances. Kieron Pollard scored a one-day century in India in December, 2011, and another in the Caribbean last year.
Jeffrey Dujon, on TV on the eve of the just completed fourth ODI in Australia, in commenting on Pollard's batting, said that the latter had scored only one ODI hundred. Fortunately, Wavell Hinds was there to correct him. It is significant that an important commentator does not know what one of the West Indies most promising cricketers did internationally in the last 14 months. That may be partly the explanation for the failure of commentators during the last 20/20 competition in the Caribbean to even mention the serious eye injury suffered in Australia by the MVP of the last 20/20 World Cup final. Could this lack of concern be the reason that Tino Best, whose lifelong ambition was to play at the WACA, did not get a game at that storied ground or indeed, at any ground, until that series was decided?
The administration, including the coach, must take more responsibility for the players' performance by helping and encouraging them rather than creating suspicion about their attitude. I found Dwayne Bravo's recent statement on TV — that he has never consumed alcohol — revealing. That was not the image that the media has tried to create about a young man who reached the landmark of 150 one-day wickets in a shorter time span than the great Courtney Walsh.
Kemar Roach, a remarkable talent, counted as his pet peeve, the tendency for people to poke around into his business and draw incorrect conclusions. Could this be part of the reason he is frequently dropped, and what impact does the regular dropping have on his confidence? He was very recently the MVP in a Big Bash final, although he was not selected to represent even Barbados in the last 20/20 series.
The championship series is scheduled for June 2013. I urge management to give all the proven talent (even those out of form or deemed inconsistent) the most help that management can afford, including the retention of a sports psychologist, in preparation for that tournament.
Finally, I believe that the West Indies has special problems in one-day cricket that can be resolved by more careful and strategic planning. There is enough talent in the Caribbean right now to go all the way in England this summer. If I have reason to believe that the Board will take my advice, I shall go to London.
Hon Romain WM Pitt
Toronto, Ontario
romain.pitt@sympatico.ca
West Indian cricketers need help, not abuse
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Dr Rudi Webster is a renowned sports psychologist who knows a lot about West Indies cricket. Sometime last year, Dr Webster observed that the West Indies team often displayed "a fear of winning" or words to that effect. Those of us who have watched the team carefully during the last 18 months or so would have noticed how frequently the team has given up strong positions whether batting or fielding, to end with defeat rather than victory. Often, what has taken place in such circumstances can be described as an implosion. Naturally, these implosions take the form of an individual or individuals taking injudicious actions while batting, or failing to remove ordinary opposition batsmen by failing to maintain line and length while bowling, or fielding poorly.
Administrators, commentators and fans tend therefore to excoriate the player or players for lack of character. Strangely, the administrators do not appear to see any connection between what Dr Webster has observed and what so often happens on the field.
I do not wish to pretend more expertise than I actually have, but it does seem obvious that many of the team's problems do not arise from lack of skill. Put more simply, it should not be almost always easier to get out high-quality batsmen than numbers eight and nine; and good West Indies batsmen should not so often get out while set, by making rash strokes.
Psychology is no longer an exotic practice. It is a recognised science that is widely used in several facets of life.
I am baffled by the unwillingness of West Indies cricket administrators to incorporate sports psychology as an integral part of West Indies cricket with a view to improving the winning percentage in international encounters.
The odds are very high that it will bear fruit.
We have gone through a long period when we explained all failures by lack of commitment from players. But administrators really do not try hard enough to help players; commentators do not even pay close attention to their performances. Kieron Pollard scored a one-day century in India in December, 2011, and another in the Caribbean last year.
Jeffrey Dujon, on TV on the eve of the just completed fourth ODI in Australia, in commenting on Pollard's batting, said that the latter had scored only one ODI hundred. Fortunately, Wavell Hinds was there to correct him. It is significant that an important commentator does not know what one of the West Indies most promising cricketers did internationally in the last 14 months. That may be partly the explanation for the failure of commentators during the last 20/20 competition in the Caribbean to even mention the serious eye injury suffered in Australia by the MVP of the last 20/20 World Cup final. Could this lack of concern be the reason that Tino Best, whose lifelong ambition was to play at the WACA, did not get a game at that storied ground or indeed, at any ground, until that series was decided?
The administration, including the coach, must take more responsibility for the players' performance by helping and encouraging them rather than creating suspicion about their attitude. I found Dwayne Bravo's recent statement on TV — that he has never consumed alcohol — revealing. That was not the image that the media has tried to create about a young man who reached the landmark of 150 one-day wickets in a shorter time span than the great Courtney Walsh.
Kemar Roach, a remarkable talent, counted as his pet peeve, the tendency for people to poke around into his business and draw incorrect conclusions. Could this be part of the reason he is frequently dropped, and what impact does the regular dropping have on his confidence? He was very recently the MVP in a Big Bash final, although he was not selected to represent even Barbados in the last 20/20 series.
The championship series is scheduled for June 2013. I urge management to give all the proven talent (even those out of form or deemed inconsistent) the most help that management can afford, including the retention of a sports psychologist, in preparation for that tournament.
Finally, I believe that the West Indies has special problems in one-day cricket that can be resolved by more careful and strategic planning. There is enough talent in the Caribbean right now to go all the way in England this summer. If I have reason to believe that the Board will take my advice, I shall go to London.
Hon Romain WM Pitt
Toronto, Ontario
romain.pitt@sympatico.ca
West Indian cricketers need help, not abuse
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