Laziness killing our cricket

The recent disaster that was the Windward Islands versus Barbados at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex may well have served to highlight the near-abject laziness of our cricketers today, a fact that significantly inhibits our progress at the regional and international levels.

Windwards versus Barbados

The match was scheduled for four days but unfortunately it ended one day early thanks to the failure of the players from the Windward Islands to apply themselves and to display a sense of pride in representing the four islands.

From the very first innings the Windwards showed a rather lazy approach to the game. The wicket did not appear to be doing anything untoward and the Barbadian bowlers could not have been said to do anything that should have earned them the wickets they so readily captured.

There were times when some of the players of the Windward Islands appeared to be set for a big score only to be seen giving away their wickets.

The Windwards seemed incapable of mounting a meaningful challenge to the Barbadians whose wily experience has allowed them more successes at the regional competitions than any other competing country. They stuck to their task and worked on their agreed strategy to capture one wicket after another, even when some of the players threatened to stem the pending collapse.

The Barbadian players for their part recognised very early the immaturity of many of the players of the opposing team and did not hesitate to engage in the reprehensible, despicable and unsporting Australian-type conduct on the field of play designed to intimidate every one of the players, as they tried to settle in at the wicket. Former West Indies player, Best, and Bajan spinner Benn, were the most guilty of the Barbadian contingent in this regard.