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Entitled “Cricket and Globalisation”, the conference, organised by Stephen Wagg and Chris Rumford of Leeds Met University, attracted academics and writers from far and wide, including Pradeep Magazine of The Hindustan Times and Sir Hilary Beckles, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, director of the CLR James Research Centre and soon-to-be biographer of one Brian Charles Lara.

During a panel discussion I mentioned a conversation I had recently had with Mark Robinson, Sussex’s cricket manager, wherein he told me of a point made by Corey Collymore, another Bajan Test man currently on the Hove staff: Caribbean players receive little or no technical guidance once they have graduated to the national side. This, Robinson felt, went a long way to explaining the inability of the extravagantly-talented Dwayne Smith, now seeking to qualify for England, to build on that wondrous match-saving century against South Africa on his Test debut four years ago. Sir Hilary offered a somewhat contrasting take.

Dwayne Smith couldn't build on his wondrous century on Test debut © Getty Images

For one thing, he suggested, if any member of the current West Indies Test XI was to walk into the room right then, and see either Lloyd or Sir Viv in the audience, he would turn tail in a justified huff and leave immediately. The heroes of the 1976-95 era, Beckles reasoned, want it both ways. They resisted technical guidance, relying on gift and instinct, and on county cricket as a finishing school, yet now berated the present generation for not embracing coaching themselves. More than that, their criticism of Lara and company, and assertions of their own superiority, not least in the sphere of black consciousness and regional loyalty, had reached such a pitch of righteous indignation and contempt that their successors had been grievously undermined.

It is hard not to sympathise, especially with Smith. As Beckles pointed out, having been born and raised in a distinctly unprivileged and unpromising environment, he had somehow lifted himself beyond the temptation of drugs, so often the route taken by the unemployed youth of the Caribbean, and beat a path to the Test XI as a teenager. That debut hundred should have been the start of something; instead, it was the end of a long, determined climb. Denied the requisite support of consistent selection and proper tutelage – Robinson believes he has never been taught how to build an innings, much less the requisite movement of foot, and, as a consequence, “misses shots too often”.

Robinson sees Smith as “a long-term project”. Capable of inflicting damage with ball as well as bat, a dazzler in the outfield, the prospect of seeing him in England colours one day is by no means an unattractive one. But who, honestly, would really want it to end up that way? Infinitely more preferable would be for Lloyd to expend the same sort of energy in making him feel wanted back home as he is currently doing in the case of Surrey’s Chris Jordan, another richly promising Bajan allrounder attempting to qualify for England for reasons of financial security. A few one-on-one sessions with Chanderpaul on the art of crease occupation wouldn’t go amiss either.

And yes, forgiving Lara his lapses, and offering him a prominent role to play in stemming the talent drain, would be another step in the general vicinity of the right direction. Cricket, after all, needs a competitive West Indies every bit as much as soccer needs a strong Brazil.

“As Beckles pointed out, having been born and raised in a distinctly unprivileged and unpromising environment, etc” what a ridiculous excuse to offer for Smith’s failure at the highest level. By no reasonable measure could his background and upbringing be so described. He has failed largely because of poor attitude. Many young players like Smith apparently believe that they are superior in talent to those offering them advice, hence the advice usually falls on deaf ears. Poor attitude is a common factor hampering young West Indian players and is a common factor in other sections of society.
It is easy to blame the administration for failures though recent administrations must bear a large part of the blame for these failures. WIPA's antics provide another serious distraction to the team's success. Insularity and jealousy, are perennial issues contributing to the difficulties facing Windies cricket. A regional coaching and mentoring system is essential but elusive.

No one should feel sorry for Dyane Smith. They(like the Gayles, Sarwans, etc) can not have it both ways. Coaches of the West Indies did try to make sure that they follow training routine----but at that the Dyane Smiths of the WI were not inclined to accept any training. They were too big to follow any training routine---most of them like the Gayle and Sarwan were at the bar and partying.

Look at the report of training issued by one coach and you will find the only one that overdid their training was Shiv.

There is no oversight as to correct past mistakes. Gayles and the Sarwans of the WI continue to make the same error over and over---but who is going to correct them. They continue to run the show. Shiv did correct most of his flaws and improved. He is by no means the most pleasant style but at the end of the day he is there.

Under no circumstances did he give up his wicket easily---he occupied the crease and definitely saw all the batting to the end. For Gayle and Sarwan --