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Bwoy Gamma it looks like WI administrators and JFF's administrators are of the same quality? Ha mussi hit mek dwag a nyaan wi suppa?
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ON THE BOUNDARY - The joke of the century
published: Tuesday | May 15, 2007
Tony Becca
The first Test between the West Indies and England gets under way at Lord's on Thursday an the home team, based on the results of the past three series, based on the aggregate and average of their batsmen, based on the number of wickets taken and the average of their bowlers and based on the experience and skill of their captain, seems way ahead of the visitors, I was, up to four days ago, prepared to back the Windies an I am a gambler, probably even bet a dollar or two on them.
Backed West Indies
One reason why I was prepared to back the West Indies is because of two results in the European football leagues recently - two results that underlined, once again, the glorious uncertainty of sport and the fact that upsets, and huge upsets at that, are part and parcel of sport.
A week or so ago Inter-Milan, the league champions of Italy, were smashed 6-2 by Roma in the final of Coppa Italia and even more shocking, a few days ago, Barcelona, leaders in the Spanish league, one of the greatest teams in the world, the team that parade the likes of Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Saviola, Deco, Giuly, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Lilian Thuram, Xavi, Sylvinho and Argentine wonder boy Lionel Messi, the team that won the first leg 5-2, were destroyed 4-0 in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-finals by Getafe - a team that hardly anyone outside of Spain has ever even heard about.
Another reason is that England, probably because they are so pampered that their players, their 13 contracted players, hardly play County cricket, have lost the ability to compete and usually collapse at the first hurdle.
SIMPLE REASON
Although nothing has changed with the teams recently, I have, however, changed my mind as far as backing the West Indies is concerned, I have done so for one simple reason, and it has nothing to do with the fact that based on what they have been saying since they have been promoted, coach David Moore, captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and vice-captain Daren Ganga, along with manager Michael Findlay have all admitted that something, as so many of us have been saying over the years, is wrong and has been wrong with the West Indies team for a long, long time.
According to three of the four gentlemen, the three who, as assistant coach and members of the team, should know what is what or what was what, for the team to do well in England, the players need to appreciate the value of fitness and proper preparation, they need to understand that it is important to stick together and to shake off the tag of indiscipline and they need to understand that good discipline plays an important part in sport.
According to Sarwan, if someone clamps down on indiscipline, it will be good for the team.
According to the manager, the players need to know that improper conduct, indiscipline will not be condoned.
No, as important as all that is, that is not why I have changed my mind.
I have changed my mind for the simple reason that the West Indies team is badly inneed of a coach - at least someone who knows the difference between an ordinary slow bowler and a good spin bowler.
NONSENSE
Of all the nonsense I have heard every time the West Indies are beginning a tour, the worse, the very worse, came out of the mouth of coach Moore on Thursday when he said, without choking, when he told people, without batting an eyelid, that Chris Gayle is the best spin bowler in the West Indies.
According to Moore, Gayle, who has taken 53 wickets in 64 Tests at an average of 38.69, is the best and he offers as support for his argument the fact that the left-handed opening batsman has provided the bulk of the West Indies spin variety in recent years.
That, however, does not and cannot make Gayle the best spin bowler in the West Indies. That only means he is the one that has been selected regularly to bowl spin - or rather to bowl slow.
There is no spin bowler alive who would have been still alive with a record of less than one wicket per Test match.
If Gayle is a spin bowler - which I would be surprised if he himself believes he is, if Gayle is a good spin bowler - which neither his first-class figures of 101 wickets in 134 matches at an average of 38.66 nor his Test return suggests he is, if Gayle is better than Dave Mohammed, Omari Banks and Amit Jaggernauth, if he is better than Nikita Miller of Melbourne and Jamaica, if he is better than Bevan Brown and Odean Brown of St. Catherine CC and Jamaica, if he is better than Andre Dwyer of Manchester and Jamaica and if he is even better than Dave Bulli of Kensington CC, to name a few, then something is wrong, really wrong, with West Indies cricket.
That must be the joke of the century - either that or, as many believe, Moore, the West Indies coach, does not know anything about the game and should not be the West Indies coach.
------------------------
ON THE BOUNDARY - The joke of the century
published: Tuesday | May 15, 2007
Tony Becca
The first Test between the West Indies and England gets under way at Lord's on Thursday an the home team, based on the results of the past three series, based on the aggregate and average of their batsmen, based on the number of wickets taken and the average of their bowlers and based on the experience and skill of their captain, seems way ahead of the visitors, I was, up to four days ago, prepared to back the Windies an I am a gambler, probably even bet a dollar or two on them.
Backed West Indies
One reason why I was prepared to back the West Indies is because of two results in the European football leagues recently - two results that underlined, once again, the glorious uncertainty of sport and the fact that upsets, and huge upsets at that, are part and parcel of sport.
A week or so ago Inter-Milan, the league champions of Italy, were smashed 6-2 by Roma in the final of Coppa Italia and even more shocking, a few days ago, Barcelona, leaders in the Spanish league, one of the greatest teams in the world, the team that parade the likes of Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Saviola, Deco, Giuly, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Lilian Thuram, Xavi, Sylvinho and Argentine wonder boy Lionel Messi, the team that won the first leg 5-2, were destroyed 4-0 in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-finals by Getafe - a team that hardly anyone outside of Spain has ever even heard about.
Another reason is that England, probably because they are so pampered that their players, their 13 contracted players, hardly play County cricket, have lost the ability to compete and usually collapse at the first hurdle.
SIMPLE REASON
Although nothing has changed with the teams recently, I have, however, changed my mind as far as backing the West Indies is concerned, I have done so for one simple reason, and it has nothing to do with the fact that based on what they have been saying since they have been promoted, coach David Moore, captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and vice-captain Daren Ganga, along with manager Michael Findlay have all admitted that something, as so many of us have been saying over the years, is wrong and has been wrong with the West Indies team for a long, long time.
According to three of the four gentlemen, the three who, as assistant coach and members of the team, should know what is what or what was what, for the team to do well in England, the players need to appreciate the value of fitness and proper preparation, they need to understand that it is important to stick together and to shake off the tag of indiscipline and they need to understand that good discipline plays an important part in sport.
According to Sarwan, if someone clamps down on indiscipline, it will be good for the team.
According to the manager, the players need to know that improper conduct, indiscipline will not be condoned.
No, as important as all that is, that is not why I have changed my mind.
I have changed my mind for the simple reason that the West Indies team is badly inneed of a coach - at least someone who knows the difference between an ordinary slow bowler and a good spin bowler.
NONSENSE
Of all the nonsense I have heard every time the West Indies are beginning a tour, the worse, the very worse, came out of the mouth of coach Moore on Thursday when he said, without choking, when he told people, without batting an eyelid, that Chris Gayle is the best spin bowler in the West Indies.
According to Moore, Gayle, who has taken 53 wickets in 64 Tests at an average of 38.69, is the best and he offers as support for his argument the fact that the left-handed opening batsman has provided the bulk of the West Indies spin variety in recent years.
That, however, does not and cannot make Gayle the best spin bowler in the West Indies. That only means he is the one that has been selected regularly to bowl spin - or rather to bowl slow.
There is no spin bowler alive who would have been still alive with a record of less than one wicket per Test match.
If Gayle is a spin bowler - which I would be surprised if he himself believes he is, if Gayle is a good spin bowler - which neither his first-class figures of 101 wickets in 134 matches at an average of 38.66 nor his Test return suggests he is, if Gayle is better than Dave Mohammed, Omari Banks and Amit Jaggernauth, if he is better than Nikita Miller of Melbourne and Jamaica, if he is better than Bevan Brown and Odean Brown of St. Catherine CC and Jamaica, if he is better than Andre Dwyer of Manchester and Jamaica and if he is even better than Dave Bulli of Kensington CC, to name a few, then something is wrong, really wrong, with West Indies cricket.
That must be the joke of the century - either that or, as many believe, Moore, the West Indies coach, does not know anything about the game and should not be the West Indies coach.
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