Blame the players, not the coaches

[ad_1]

KINGSTON, Jamaica Players more than coaches must take responsibility for West Indies’ failures on the cricket pitch, former fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts has suggested.

Although emphasizing the importance of coaches to the development of players in the game, the 71-year-old said they get the short end of the stick.

They have someone to blame, they blame the coaches, said Sir Andy, a former West Indies Cricket Board coach, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer newspaper.

His comments came as the region waits to hear from Cricket West Indies (CWI) who will take over the role of head coach following the resignation of Phil Simmons after the Caribbean side pulled out of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup last October.

Simmons stayed on for the West Indies tour of Australia which also ended in defeat, and Andre Coley has since been named interim head coach, even as CWI awaits a report from a three-man independent panel that he’s set up to undertake a comprehensive review of West India’s exit from the first round of the tournament.

Sir Andy claimed coaching had become a scapegoat for poor performances by regional teams and attention was not paid to what really mattered.

How come we didn’t make five changes to the One-Day International team? We lost 2-0 in Australia; How come we didn’t make five changes to the test team? he asked.

My accent does not depend on coaching. It depends on the players taking responsibility for developing their game to the point that all the coach has to do is make sure they follow their drills.

Sir Andy, the first Antiguan to play Test cricket for the West Indies, suggested training should focus on developing young cricketers as there were too many players who did not understand the fundamentals of cricket .

We have to get it right and try to develop our players from under 15 all the way to senior level. They are the ones who have to do things right. This is where you need your best coaches, not at test match level. At this level you need someone who can plan the game, who has an eye on the game and I don’t think we have too many students of the game playing today, said the former player Caribbean. (CMC)

Read our ePaper. Fast. Factual. To free.

Sign up and stay up to date with the latest FREE news from Barbados.

[ad_2]