'We are passing through some rough patches; I am sure our team will bounce back'

The West Indies cricket team, which ruled world cricket in the eighties, today finds itself in the dumps. While recent defeats, particularly the whitewash against Australia in both the one-day and Test series, have exposed the impoverishment in fast bowling, their batsmen too have failed to live up to the reputation of their predecessors. Which prompts cricket lovers to ask: is there something terribly wrong with West Indies cricket?

"No," says West Indies Cricket Board president Patrick Rousseau.

In the course of an exclusive interview with Rifat Jawaid, Rousseau, who, along with the his CEO Gregory Shilling Ford, was in Calcutta this week en route to attend the International Cricket Council meeting in Melbourne, said all is not lost for the West Indies cricket; it would soon bounce back to the No 1 position it once enjoyed. Excerpts:

What, according to you, is the future of West Indies cricket?

Well, what can I say on the future of West Indian cricket. Our audience has been growing rapidly. There has been a phenomenal growth in the number of those coming to watch Test matches. Also, more and more people are watching the longer version of the game on television. So, I can say that we have a fairly good future.

(Shilling Ford interjects) Moreover, it's the most popular sport there. Believe it or not, cricket’s popularity has been growing every year.

Tell us something about the cricket academy you have just set up in the West Indies.

As you said, we have just set up the first cricket academy. We had hesitated to set up cricket academies on our own because we cannot finance them. But we are doing it in the universities. We just did the first one with St. George's university and are working on others until they become a reality.

Has finance been the only impediment on your way to starting an academy? Or, is it because there's been a talent crisis?

No. An academy is really a finishing school, you know, to shape your better players. What we have focused on is under-12 and under-15 cricket, because we've to get more people of that age playing also. That is when you develop a cricketer. The academy is for when you are 18 or 19 years old, and you are already a fairly good cricketer. An academy only helps such players improve the talent they already possess.

Are you planning to rework the existing model of Busta Trophy?

Yes, we have made quite a few changes already and one of the changes is that we now have 'A' teams. We have now started inviting the 'A' team from overseas to play in our domestic circuit. We have invited India 'A' to play in Busta Cup which is quite competitive. Once the Indian board agrees to reciprocate our request, it will have a significant impact on the domestic league as a whole.

Many attribute the West Indies' dismal performance in cricket to the advent of basketball and baseball. Would you buy this theory?

Baseball? No. But yes, basketball, indeed, has some impact, but it is minimal only. That's not a problem at all. The problem is that we need a lot more players in the schools. Basketball has not had a major impact on cricket. I agree with you that there has been a lot of talk on this subject of late, but what happens is that more people get to watch basketball on television because it's available. We need to have more cricket on television as well to see that its popularity is not undermined by other games.

Why is it that basketball has more television viewers, and not cricket, which you claim is more popular than the former?

Well, because it costs a lot to telecast cricket than basketball. You must remember that there are many islands you have to fly around to in the West Indies. You have to do everything like moving equipment around. Then there are islands that don’t have the facility to transmit pictures on television. Installing the entire network there would entail huge money.

Why was Sir Viv Richards not offered the coaching job?

When Viv Richards toured New Zealand as West Indian coach we had made it very clear that the contract was only for one tour. The usual process to select a coach in the West Indies is that one has to apply for the job. Then, a select committee evaluates the applicant's merit. There were other applicants too and he was not selected. The committee, which did the interviews and evaluated each applicant's merit, probably didn't find him fit for the coaching job.

So, what you are saying is that even a legendary figure like Viv Richards needs to have qualifications to qualify for the coaching job?

Well, the committee probably felt that he did not meet the requirements it had prescribed for a coach. But I don't think the coach is a major problem. However, everybody knows that when he [Viv] coached the side in New Zealand, we lost. I think we've to do many other things than just deal with a coach.

Why did Hooper have to leave for Aussie cricket?

I don't know the exact reason, but we were told that his son wasn't doing well and he needed to be hospitalised in Australia. So all I know is that his son's sickness was one of the major reasons that prompted him to travel to Australia. He went there primarily because he wanted to be present while his son was being treated in Australia.

Do you really want us to believe that his son's sickness was the only reason behind his 'migration' to Australia?

You can't stop anyone. Can the Indian board stop some players if they go out of the country citing health reasons. Firstly, we don't have long term contract with players in the West Indies. We keep them on a fixed tour. And even if we had contracts, we couldn't have stopped anyone from leaving the country citing reasons as serious as that of Hooper.

It seems the West Indies is experiencing total bankruptcy in producing fast bowlers...

We have some promising fast bowlers, but it's just that they probably need more exposure and experience. We have some youngsters and, hopefully, we will get the right combination in our speed attack soon. We have been unlucky that it's taking a little longer to get the perfect combinations. But, eventually, we will have them very soon.

Going by your team's record of the last three years, one gets the feeling that there is something terribly wrong with West Indian cricket. How would you respond?

We must try to convince cricket lovers that we've not been beaten at home in the past 21 years, except once. We have had three tours overseas where we performed badly. But, I don't think that's any yardstick to write off the West Indies cricket team. We are working hard for improved results. Nobody has a record even near to what we hold. Nobody will be able to dominate cricket as long as that again. We remained unbeaten for 18 long years. We are passing through some rough patches; I am sure our team will bounce back sooner than one would anticipate.

Perhaps, disheartened by the pathetic performance of your team in recent times, Allan Border had suggested that the ICC should invest in the West Indian cricket rather than funding cricket minnows like Bangladesh. Your comments!

We feel that there are resources we can generate to invest in our cricket. I also think that if we don’t build up other teams, then the game will forever be played amongst seven or eight nations. We need to hold World Cup cricket on the similar lines as those of the soccer World Cup, where you have over 30 teams vying for the coveted title.

What has been the ICC's contribution to improve cricket in the West Indies?

There has been no financial assistance from the ICC, because they are not in a position to provide other than what we get as our share of World Cup money, which everybody gets. They haven't had any resources till now for additional funding. Surely things may change for the better in future.

What about the sponsorship? Hasn't it been unsatisfactory?

Yeah, when you compare to Indian cricket team. We don't have wealth like India, but we get fairly good sponsorship. But you must bear one thing in mind that we are only six million people. We will never be able to compare with India, which has one billion population. So, naturally, sponsors find it more lucrative to invest in your country than in ours.

What has been [Brian] Lara's contribution to West Indian cricket?

Well, Lara has made a significant contribution. Undoubtedly, he's a great batsman, holds two world records to his name and has made a lot of runs. Australia were lucky to have drawn the series the last time they toured the West Indies. In that series, Lara made three centuries. So Lara has made a lasting contribution to the West Indian cricket.

Interviews

Mail Cricket Editor