Oral Tracey | Performance, form not valued by CWI

The discussion firestorms that are still raging over the exclusion of Windies batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and especially in-form opener Evin Lewis from the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka is surprising, to say the least. Here was I thinking or assuming that it’s ­conventional wisdom that performance was the most important requirement of a professional sportsman or woman.

All the systems, structures, rules and parameters set out by professional sporting organisations are aimed at encouraging and improving performance. It is therefore bizarre to see the outcry and strident resistance to the very simple position that Lewis deserves his spot. This batsman was by far the best performer in the most recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series against Ireland. In three innings, he posted scores of 99 not out, seven, and 108, with an impressive series batting average of I04. That man’s exclusion from the next assignment sends the dangerous message that performance and form are not respected or valued.

If the fitness mandate is aimed at stimulating performance, any system that effectively punishes and excludes the individual who produces that level of performance, cannot be in the best interest of the team.

If performance is the ultimate objective in sports, and by extension, scoring runs, the ultimate objective of batting, fitness then becomes less relevant if a batsman is performing. The level to which Evin Lewis outperformed his peers in that Ireland series should have guaranteed him a place in the team at least for the next series. If there are wider fitness concerns which are affecting his overall performances, warn him, or even fine him, but he should not be dropped when on current form he is so far ahead of his peers.

For any batsman to stand at the crease and compile 99 unbeaten runs, and a couple of days later deliver another match, winning innings of 108, in and of itself requires more than functional fitness. He is in a comfort zone, so to speak, that enables him to perform better than he has ever before.

HARMFUL ACTION

With all their best intentions, this action by the functionaries of Cricket West Indies (CWI) implies that it is more important to be fit than to perform. As obtains now, if a player is fit and does not perform, he gets a pass and retains his place in the team, but a player who is deemed unfit, even if he performs, he is thrown out of the team. That is an absolute overturn of the traditional value system of sport, and is potentially harmful to the player and the team. There is an adage that says “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” A batting average of 104 in his last three innings needs no immediate fixing.

No one in their right mind could be demanding a permanent place in the Windies ODI team for Lewis. His overall body of work cannot reasonably defend or justify that kind of demand, but he certainly does not deserve to be dropped immediately after dominating and delivering a series win.

Lewis, if he was selected, might well have gone to Sri Lanka and fail miserably. He might even have broken down with another injury attributable to his supposedly substandard level of fitness. Had that happened, then that is when he should be reprimanded, ostracised, and indeed dropped, but certainly not when he is the best performer in the team.