Cricket fortunes draw parallels with world economies

Two Saturdays ago, India, after a 28-year drought, won the ICC Cricket World Cup, and in the process, became the first host country to do so in a display of calm confidence, mirroring its steady rise as a global economic force. Before a capacity crowd in Mumbai, its middle-order batsmen took charge of the game after the early loss of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag. At that point, some of us were concluding that Sri Lanka's 274 would prove a winning total, considering that team's greater all-round strength and notwithstanding India's depth of batting.

The display at Mumbai was a far cry from when, as a youngster, I first watched an Indian team at Lord's in the first Test match of their 1967 tour of England. The Indians took a hammering in that Test, going down to a six-wicket defeat after England declared at 550 runs for the loss of four wickets in their first innings, and being skittled out for 164 runs with only the Nawab of Pataudi Jr passing 50. Ironically, what I most remember was Geoff Boycott's 'go-slow' double century, not out, in England's first innings, which took him nearly two days, and that led to him being dropped for the second Test for what the selectors called "selfish batting".

india on top

India went on to lose the series miserably, 3-0, in spite of some brilliant individual performances, of which I recall 148 by the Nawab in the second innings of that Lord's Test when he took on the English bowling, frontally, including John Snow. In contrast, India today boasts what many believe is the strongest batting line-up in international cricket and sits at the very top of world cricket, not only in the performance of its team, but by way of the sheer economic muscle that it brings to the game.

It has, by far, the largest crowd support, by virtue of its population and the fervour for the game which is now matched by the level of financing that supports competitive cricket in India. The sums paid to players in its Indian Premier League far surpass fees and prizes in other cricket competitions around the world. Following Australia's long reign as world champions of cricket, a run that started in the early to mid-'90s, we could well see India taking over as the dominant force, given the impetus likely to be generated by the success of its team and its organisation for the World Cup. This momentum could extend to the entire subcontinent - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.

By contrast, the West Indies have been on a constant slide after yielding world dominance in the early '90s. Organisationally, it is in shambles, appearing not to be able to establish the kind of management and machinery needed for the game in what is now a highly competitive and commercial game worldwide. We have many first-rate stadia to show from having hosted the 2007 World Cup, but little by way of organisation of the game. Symptomatic of this is the now predictable squabble between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players' Association in every period leading up to a Test series or limited-over competition.

windies lack discipline

The downturn in West Indies cricket is a big blow to the English-speaking Caribbean people at home and in the diaspora. Once the pride of West Indian communities in Britain and North America, our cricketers now seem to lack the mental application and discipline to perform with any degree of consistency. Their level of physical preparation is a major issue, with some players being regularly sidelined by injuries. They wilt easily under pressure, show little understanding of either strategy or tactics, and lack the fighting spirit of their predecessors.

The Caribbean's demise in cricket is yet another sign of the region's declining performance reflected in our economic indicators, crime statistics and brain drain. As I have pointed out before, we are being left behind by countries in Central America which, not long ago, were ravaged by civil wars and ruled by military dictatorships. While nearly all of them are showing accelerated economic growth rates, most CARICOM countries are mired in recession and grappling with huge budget and external deficits as well as burdensome debts.

What is striking about the region's failings in cricket is how the WICB has not organised to tap the reservoir of technical knowledge embodied in our past players. Other nations like Sri Lanka were smarter, drawing on former WI players to help build their foundations.

It is hard to see how West Indies cricket is going to be revived under the current leadership.

Regional governments and businesses have similarly not mobilised the body of human resources and finance capital in the diaspora to strengthen our economies. Emerging giants China and India have built networks that allow them to utilise the powerful links of their diaspora to penetrate the markets of North America, Europe and Oceania. The region will continue to fall behind economically, as it has done in cricket, if the present order prevails.

Dennis Morrison is an economist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.