UAE warm-up games useful for West Indies

The West Indies team just completed their warm-up matches against the United Arab Emirates. They won the three 50-over games on the trot. These games were organised for match practice to ensure the team is ready for the ODI World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe.

Their first game is against the USA on June 18. They have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Zimbabwe, Netherlands, the USA and Nepal. It’s a ten-team tournament split into two groups of five.

While WI administration over the years has allowed representative teams to reach near-rock-bottom in world rankings in all formats, it is now in the hands of past players who were accustomed to playing positive cricket and winning matches. These are people like Desmond Haynes, a tremendous opening batsman under the victorious captaincy of Sir Clive Lloyd, as the chairman of selectors, known at present as lead selector, with Roland Butcher as his assistant, a Test cricketer who represented England, plus Daren Sammy, the successful captain in two World Cups in the T20 format, in 2012 and 2016, as coach of the white-ball teams, and thus a selector.

These positive, knowledgeable, past cricketers, who do not know what it is to lose, hence, would be motivating and helpful in revealing this team’s potential as international cricketers, showing them the attitude with which to approach the game of cricket, regardless of the format in which they are engaged.

In the warm-up games, they were lethal. That’s the way to approach sport, regardless of the strength of the opponent. Every encounter must be undertaken with the idea of winning, not entertaining any thought of losing. Always be conscious of one’s position so that no advantage is given away. Critics sneer and mumble that it was only a weak side – UAE. They never praise the decisive victories of the WI, but if they slip and lose even a single game, these critics are the first to admonish the players’ performance, giving spurious reasons for the team’s poor ability and lack of talent.

The player must understand that in sport there are winners, losers and critics. The right mental attitude is the confidence to win every contest in which one’s team participates. There’s no other rationale to compete.

I believe that the West Indian team approached the warm-up games with a powerful challenge, never appearing arrogant or superior while on their way to high scores, plus steady bowling to stifle the UAE batsmen. At no time did the team look over-confident, and they kept at their opponent relentlessly, like a stubborn pest.

I could understand the selectors trying to give every player a look-in, a chance to have match practice.

However, one must be carefully analytical when doing this, as some players may need more work and their talent could be more useful in matches than a rest.

Dominic Drakes, for example, is a naturally gifted player with ball and bat and it’s fortunate for the team that he does both left-handed. This is a youngster who needs work regularly to keep him sharp, and I hope when he’s rested as in the third game at Sharjah, he's encouraged to keep practising.

Alick Athanaze is another one of rare talent, and should be playing on a regular basis. Match practice is so valuable: it gives the player and coach the opportunity for reflection, to witness the progress that is being made by talented youths.

A 50-over game is different from a 20-over in its approach. However, watching some batsmen’s method of dismissal one would think there’s no mentality involved. In all formats, the cricketer is called upon to read the game and play to suit. The field placing must be keenly observed. One has to know when to take risks, and read the game throughout.

The bowler in white-ball games has very little need to try several variations in his deliveries to lure a batsman into error. By attempting traps for the batsmen, he may allow bad deliveries to surface. He has to practise to put every ball on the same length for the type of batsman; that’s why constant practice is required.

That type of bowling annoys a batsman as he becomes frustrated, loses his cool, then attempts to hit the bowler off his length, and the risk he takes is the trap into which the bowler wants to lure him. Concentration, mental attitude, self-confidence are the secret to success in cricket.

Good luck, Windies!