By Neto Baptiste
Legendary batsman and former West Indies captain, Sir Vivian Richards, believes that amidst the struggle to find competent leaders across all formats, there should be a keen interest by Cricket West Indies and others to groom potential captains.
His recommendation comes amidst debate over who should take the reins of the region’s T20 squad following the short-lived run of Trinidadian Nicholas Pooran who left the post following the team’s dismal showing at the 2022 T20 World Cup where they failed to advance from the qualifiers.
“We should have had, maybe, even when Nicholas Pooran was in charge, guys in the wing who could just step in and say ‘this is the individual who we’ve been working with for a number of years’. If they haven’t done that, then I guess it is going to be lottery-like in a sense, but we should, at least, have identified some individual we felt suitable, like the vice-captain. I am just hoping that we find someone who can basically get things going,” he said.
West Indies finished bottom of its group in Hobart, beating Zimbabwe in its second game, but losing to Scotland and Ireland on either side to crash out of the tournament.
Coach Phil Simmons announced his resignation following the team’s dismal performance while Pooran stepped down as white ball captain last week.
Sir Viv said that the hardships of leading a team through a rocky period could prove a daunting task to many.
“I guess he was under pressure and I think it might be a personal thing as well, too, along with those who had his ears. Maybe he felt that his contribution to the team wasn’t enough and all of that could be part of the [decision] factor,” he said.
Last year and earlier this year, Pooran led the West Indies in the absence of Kieron Pollard, enjoying a T20 International (T20I) Series win against Australia at home (4-1). He was officially appointed West Indies Men’s white ball captain in May this year when Pollard stepped down. Overall, Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is, recording Series wins against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).