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There was a time, long ago, when the West Indies cricket team really mattered to me.
As a youngster growing up in Nottingham, there wasn’t much we had to shout about. In any discussion, arena, and sporting forum long before the internet took off, the West Indies were a source of immense pride.
In recent years, since my father passed, I find myself watching less and less. So much so, that I don’t even reach for the scores anymore.
The constant, silly belief that the Caribbean region can claw its way back to the top. The laughable suggestions that a bunch of old politicians and administrators know what’s best for the game.
Maybe I don’t follow many games because I’m not a fan of the bash it T20 format, and it hurts to see how under prepared our youngsters are at Test level.
Yet really, how has it come to this – a woeful, revolving merry-go-round of mediocrity, where an average coach gets to “rehabilitate” a struggling team.
No offence Stuart Law, who is now the third Aussie to try his hand at being the head coach of the West Indies, but questionably short stints coaching Sri Lanka and Bangladesh don’t qualify you for one of the toughest jobs in world cricket.
Certainly not any more than Phil Simmons, the venerable Trinidadian allrounder and last incumbent of the head coaching job. All of Simmons’ years coaching an overachieving Ireland, his knowledge of the region, and his ability as a motivating coach, suggested he was the right man for the job. But then again, I thought Otis Gibson would have been given longer.
It’s hard to see how things will improve for youngsters still fascinated by a great game.
Personally, it’s not actually the losing that hurts, although winning is much more fun. After all, I am a Liverpool fan. I’ve become used to crushing disappointment.
Yet, where Liverpool still give me hope, the West Indies fill me with nothing but trepidation. I don’t really like what they represent and I shudder everytime the WICB comes up in conversation. It often involves arrogant and self-serving officialdom, poor organisation, and increasingly selfish and boring players.
Where the West Indies were concerned, it was never just the winning that mattered. It was the way they represented us. And that’s why I don’t take much pride in our last T20 victory.
Winning isn’t always good enough to cover the rampant self-indulgent joy, the petty vindictiveness, limited class and the lack of sheer sporting goodwill. The way you win and what you represent, means a lot more.
That’s why I continue to follow and support my mighty Reds. They make me proud in victory and defeat. The West Indies just make me cringe, especially when I see my son chuckling at the way us older folks still fret at what has happened.
Perhaps, he sums it up best.
“Cricket. The West Indies. Why?” he opines. “It’s just embarrassing to listen to them all. No one cares anymore!”
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