It will take more than talent to bring West Indies and Barbados cricket back to the forefront.
So said Mac Fingall during his feature address entitled Back To Winning Ways: Taking West Indies And Barbados Cricket Forward at the Barbados Cricket Association’s awards for the 2017 season at the President’s Suite, Kensington Oval Friday night.
“The ingredients of anything demand the result . . . . some of the ingredients necessary for success in cricket are fitness, commitment, dedication, discipline, patience, confidence, eagerness to learn, aggression, unity, being coachable, attitude, following instructions, hard work and desire.
“You may notice I didn’t mention talent. Talent is an ingredient, but it is part of the world. It is mistakenly seen as the only ingredient – the end-all. Talent without the aforementioned ingredients is a waste of time,” he said.
He added that in choosing a national and regional team selectors needed to look past averages, instead focusing on the cricketers’ state of mind and personality.
“His sexuality, his habits, his lifestyle, his religion, his long term plans, medical issues . . . . To some of you these things might seem ridiculous and unnecessary and others might say what that got to do with batting and bowling,” Fingall said.
However, he explained that cricket had become a game governed by a “win at all cost mentality”; not one which was originally played by gentlemen.
Fingall also mentioned that in putting together a team from a physical point of view, height needed to be taken into consideration.
“We need tall fast bowlers with the emphasis on fast. This way we will be able to counter the current opponents who are equipped with pace bowlers who are way over six feet in height and bowling constantly at 150 kilometres per hour.
“We have Kemar Roach who has reached 150 kilometres, but he is only a five-footer, thereby not being physically able to produce the threatening type of bounce which Newton’s 3rd law of motion suggests would result from a 6ft, 5 bowler with the same pace. Australia, England and South Africa have armed themselves with fast bowlers ranging 6ft, 3 in to 6ft 8 in . . . .We must recruit batsmen who can handle this type of bowling.”
He explained that he felt Carlos Brathwaite who he thought should be playing Test cricket instead of Twenty20 would be capable of handling such deliveries with his height.
Fingall also mentioned that the BCA was doing a good job but greater focus needed to be turned to life after cricket since you could not make a living solely out of playing cricket for Barbados. (RG)
