A CRICKETER cannot perform to the best of his ability unless he has the discipline required. It doesn’t matter whether he’s batting, bowling or fielding, he needs the right attitude to be able to function at the highest standard of which he’s capable.
This standard is developed by the way he trains. Training has to do with frequency, knowledge, guidance and attitude.
Enthusiasm is then generated and it makes the difference.
The West Indies team at the T20 World Cup 2022, has been bowled out of the competition, with the Super 12 under way in Australia. West Indies needed to qualify for the Super 12 phase, having not accumulated enough points to manage automatic qualification. Eight teams did so, including Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which left WI scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The once proud collection of dominant Caribbean cricketers, two-time world T20 champions as recent as 2012 and 2016, had fallen out of the top eight, suffering the indignity of having to be lumped with the lesser eight teams. Split in two groups, the teams that placed first and second in each group progressed to join the top eight to make the Super 12, to vie for cricket supremacy in the T20 cricket format.
Lo and behold, they flunked that examination as well.
To the utter humiliation of all WI fans worldwide, the shock is hardly bearable.
A look at our team and the way that they played, revealed a lacklustre approach which can only be derived from insufficient training.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="660"] L-R: WI strength and conditioning coach Desmond Haynes, CWI director of cricket Jimmy Adams and WI men's batting coach Monty Desai at the National Cricket Centre, Couva on Tuesday. - Photo Courtesy TTCB[/caption]
When this happens it is simply because of either underrating the opposition, or not preparing properly through lack of knowledge of what is required.
Observing the West Indian cricketers batting, they seemed to have no plan, nor knowing what to do in a given situation. This is not through a shortage of talent or an inability to bat, but a deficiency in suitable guidance. This important element has to be provided by the coach. The WI squad is guided by a cadre of coaches headed by the head coach.
Our absolutely pathetic batting proved that there was no proper training.
At international level what a batsman needs more than anything else is confidence. In T20 cricket one is constantly under pressure, because of having a maximum of 120 deliveries for the team to accumulate their runs.
Once he doubts himself for a minute he’ll fall into error. Hence, one witnesses many poor strokes but the successful batsman in this format will minimise his errors through appropriate guidance. Encouragement is critical.
At this level the confidence of a batsman needs to be high at all times and the competent coach will know how to build that self-assurance. Also, he must pass on to the batsman how to play an innings, how to build it according to the dictates of the game.
The coach must know how to school thes
