Mr Mxyzptlk
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This is an excerpt taken from a recent article by Mr. Colin Croft. It details why he believes Lara should not be captain.
"I also put it to all who would listen and really understand this question, if Lara is so inspirational to West Indies cricketers, how come there are ONLY two other players who hail from his country, Trinidad and Tobago, Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, in the present West Indies cricket team? This, mind you, when one of the incumbent selectors, Joey Carew, to some, "Lara's Godfather", has been there forever?"
Am I the only one who sees this as utter and complete rubbish? Not only is Mr. Croft making Lara accountable for the future of Trinidad and Tobago cricket, but he is basically disregarding any actual determining factor - such as talent, temperament, commitment - and putting all the onus on Lara to inspire cricketers to be world class. Apparently it's Lara's fault that there are ONLY two Trinidadians in the West Indies team. Let's just ignore the fact that those two players are the brightest prospects in the region right now, and that there are only 10 players aside from Lara in a West Indies cricket team, whilst there are six major regions represented within West Indies cricket.
It continues...
"Worse even is this. There is no-one else from T&T, at present, even close to making the West Indies cricket team now. Surely he could inspire his own countrymen, if not the rest of the West Indies' cricketers. None of this public rhetoric makes sense."
No Mr. Croft. None of your "facts" make sense or bear relevance.
Onward...
"When Clive Lloyd was made captain of the West Indies, many Guyanese were already on the team, on merit; Alvin Kallicharan, Roy Fredericks, Rohan Kanhai and Lance Gibbs. When I made my Test debut, there were already four Guyanese in the cricket team, all much more accomplished than even Lloyd might have been. Captaincy is not about runs or wickets, but of leadership, inspiration and man management."
How is any of this relevant? He goes on to state how many Bajans were on board when Sobers took over - even less relevant. Apparently Lara, who has not played steadily for, let alone captained the Trinidad and Tobago team in forever, is to blame for the lack of Trinidadians on the West Indies team. Apparently Lara failed to lead, inspire, and man-manage whilst not playing for the team. Indeed, even if he did play for the team consistently, I fail to see how it is Lara's responsibility to turn substandard/mediocre cricketers into those of Test calibre.
Again...
"I ask again. How come, if he is so influential and inspirational, that Brian Lara does not influence and inspire is own countrymen to aspire and play for the West Indies? No rhetoric can change that fact!"
I'm sure Lara inspires many from several countries around the globe to aspire to play international cricket. It's not his fault if they're simply not good enough. He doesn't pick any team.
I really can't believe Colin Croft gets paid to spout this nonsense.
That said, I don't believe Lara should be handed back the captaincy.
"I also put it to all who would listen and really understand this question, if Lara is so inspirational to West Indies cricketers, how come there are ONLY two other players who hail from his country, Trinidad and Tobago, Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, in the present West Indies cricket team? This, mind you, when one of the incumbent selectors, Joey Carew, to some, "Lara's Godfather", has been there forever?"
Am I the only one who sees this as utter and complete rubbish? Not only is Mr. Croft making Lara accountable for the future of Trinidad and Tobago cricket, but he is basically disregarding any actual determining factor - such as talent, temperament, commitment - and putting all the onus on Lara to inspire cricketers to be world class. Apparently it's Lara's fault that there are ONLY two Trinidadians in the West Indies team. Let's just ignore the fact that those two players are the brightest prospects in the region right now, and that there are only 10 players aside from Lara in a West Indies cricket team, whilst there are six major regions represented within West Indies cricket.
It continues...
"Worse even is this. There is no-one else from T&T, at present, even close to making the West Indies cricket team now. Surely he could inspire his own countrymen, if not the rest of the West Indies' cricketers. None of this public rhetoric makes sense."
No Mr. Croft. None of your "facts" make sense or bear relevance.
Onward...
"When Clive Lloyd was made captain of the West Indies, many Guyanese were already on the team, on merit; Alvin Kallicharan, Roy Fredericks, Rohan Kanhai and Lance Gibbs. When I made my Test debut, there were already four Guyanese in the cricket team, all much more accomplished than even Lloyd might have been. Captaincy is not about runs or wickets, but of leadership, inspiration and man management."
How is any of this relevant? He goes on to state how many Bajans were on board when Sobers took over - even less relevant. Apparently Lara, who has not played steadily for, let alone captained the Trinidad and Tobago team in forever, is to blame for the lack of Trinidadians on the West Indies team. Apparently Lara failed to lead, inspire, and man-manage whilst not playing for the team. Indeed, even if he did play for the team consistently, I fail to see how it is Lara's responsibility to turn substandard/mediocre cricketers into those of Test calibre.
Again...
"I ask again. How come, if he is so influential and inspirational, that Brian Lara does not influence and inspire is own countrymen to aspire and play for the West Indies? No rhetoric can change that fact!"
I'm sure Lara inspires many from several countries around the globe to aspire to play international cricket. It's not his fault if they're simply not good enough. He doesn't pick any team.
I really can't believe Colin Croft gets paid to spout this nonsense.
That said, I don't believe Lara should be handed back the captaincy.