Tony Becca

THE WEST Indies camp's preparation for their tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa is now under way at the High Performance Centre at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies in Bridgetown and that is good.

The problem, however, is that one man - an important man as far as the camp is concerned - is missing. The coach, the Australian who took over from two other Australians, is not present.

According to a release by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), the body which announced John Dyson's appointment on October 25, the coach, the man from the land of the world champions, the man who is expected to wave the wand and turn things around for the West Indies team, had a few things to do.

Dyson had to wind up things with his former employers, he had to look about relocating his family and he will not be available to the West Indies until December 10 when he will join the team in South Africa.

Did the WICB not know?

While there is no questioning that a man has to do what he has to do and that Dyson's obligation to his former employers and his commitment to his family is understandable, the question is this: Did the WICB not know there were tours to Zimbabwe and to South Africa and the dates of those tours in time to ensure that Dyson would have been employed earlier and, therefore, would have been available for both of them and for the preceding camp?

It is strange that the board has talked so often and so much about the importance of camps before tours and home series, about the need to get West Indies players training and practising properly and thinking about the game. It is strange that, at great expense, the board has gone for a succession of Australian coaches - of foreign coaches - to train the players and to instil a new approach, a new attitude in them and yet the players, at great expense, have been brought together for nine days, the coach is not there and will not be there.

Praising Australians

The 23 players, plus Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels, in Bridgetown preparing to take on not so much Zimbabwe but more so South Africa, are under the watchful eyes and the guidance, not of the genius from Australia, but of two ordinary West Indians.

Talking about the masters from Australia, on the same day, Wednesday November 14, that the board announced the absence of Dyson from the camp and from the tour of Zimbabwe, Cricinfo quoted John Buchanan, the former coach of Australia, as saying that countries should recruit players from Australia to increase their depths of talent.

According to Buchanan, writing in the Herald Sun, Australia has been dominating the game to the extent that Test cricket is no longer competitive and "it might not be a bad thing if the ICC looked at some rule relaxations which might allow a more even distribution of players around the world."

According to Buchanan, "Most young cricketers in Australia grow up wanting to play for Australia, but I'm sure there would be quite a few who, when they get to about 25 or 26 and realise they probably won't get a chance to wear the baggy green, would still be happy to play international cricket anywhere. The problem at the moment is that there is a long qualification period and, by the time that's up, the player and the other country lose interest."

Buchanan continued: "Countries should look to recruit young players from Australia, and places like India, to increase their depths of talent. Those players would enhance the domestic competition and, hopefully, go on to play Test cricket for the country they move to. We don't want cricket to become like a horse race when the favourite wins all the time. No one will want to watch."

Test cricket is not a franchise like American sports or like club football around the world, but, like any other international sport, like football and athletics for example, it is country versus country.

Also, I am sure that Australian Buchanan was around in the years between 1976 and 1995, and unless he has a bad memory, unless, like so many others, including some West Indians, he believes that Australians, because of their success, are God's special gift to cricket, on and off the field, he must remember how great, how unstoppable and how dominant were the West Indies teams of those years.

The Australians, who defeated the West Indies in 1995 and started the slide of the Caribbean side, are good, and there is no doubt about that. In fact, the Australian sides of the past 10 years must be numbered among the best of all time.

With defeats to India in India in 1997-98, however, to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in 1999-2000, to India again in India in 2000-01, and to England in England in 2005, Australia, despite ticking off 13 victories in a row up to the first Test against Sri Lanka a few days ago, are not as powerful or as awesome as the West Indies were between 1976 and 1995.

Invincible West Indies

The West Indies were invincible at home and abroad. In the four years between 1976 and 1980 the West Indies lost once, a controversial 1-0 defeat to New Zealand in New Zealand in 1980, between 1980 and 1995, in 15 years of greatness, in 29 series, 17 of them away from home, they never even lost once, and that is class.

My memory may be fading, but I do not remember any West Indian, in those days, bold enough or arrogant enough to talk about any team, even one like Bangladesh, recruiting West Indians for their Test teams - even though the West Indies were so strong that Australia, despite their last defeat coming two years ago, will have to go unbeaten for another 13 years to approach the Windies dominance.

As great as Australia are, including Buchanan, Bennett King, David Moore and Dyson, as good as their coaches were and may be are, those are the facts of life.

Australia, even at their best, represented by their best and coached by their own, are not as good as the West Indies were at their best and in the days when they were represented by their best - in the days when they were coached or guided,or motivated in the schools, in the clubs and in the territories by their own.

Do not need Australians

An Australian coach, or rather three Australian coaches behind each other, is bad enough in spite of the great players, the great captains and the great teams the West Indies have produced, some may turn their backs on their own in an attempt to win, the West Indies certainly do not need an Australian player or two in order to win again.

A few days ago, Arsene Wenger, the French coach of England's Premier League club Arsenal, was asked if he would love to coach the England team and he replied tha he wants the best for England, he would not want to coach the national team.

"That is for an Englishman to do," said Wenger, who went on to ask, "What anthem would I sing if England were playing against France?"