What's going on with WI coaches?

THE EDITOR: If the comments made by Cricket West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick on the upcoming tour of the Netherlands are indicative of the level of strategic thinking that exists, I may as well become Rip Van Winkle and take a nap for the next 100 years.

For a tour whose first match is on May 31, he gave the definite impression that absolutely no preparatory work was done by the coaching staff. This staff is led by head coach Phil Simmons with Rayon Griffith and Estwick as assistant coaches.

He complained about a "lack of knowledge about pitches, weather conditions and players."

He also said that "once we get there, we'll have a look at the footage...and then come up with a game plan." Unbelievable!

In January, the Netherlands played Afghanistan and from late March to early April, they played New Zealand, both in 50-over matches, albeit outside of the Netherlands. These games are available for any interested coach to watch and analyse.

As I write this letter on May 22, I was able to go on YouTube and pull up a 50-over club game (Punjab 2 versus Groen and Wit 2) played in the Netherlands on May 21.

What exactly are these clueless cricket coaches being paid to do?

LINUS F DIDIER

Mt Hope