Common sense before emotion, please

Comment by Ibrahim Moiz

Earlier this week the West Indian cricket board announced its squad for the tour of Australia that is scheduled to begin later this month. There were more than a few raised eyebrows when Chris Gayle was confirmed as captain in a "unanimous" decision.

Why Gayle? asked people, such as the Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Roebuck; why the man who publicly made his indifference for Test cricket clear earlier on the summer tour of England, who literally led from the front in a demoralising defeat and then, like a spoilt child (they say), sat out the remainder of the summer in a dispute with the board over so mundane an issue as contracts?

Why not, they asked (hope spreading sunbeamesque across their hitherto ravaged features), why not Daren Ganga, that shining beacon of West Indian cricket, the man who captained Trinidad and Tobago with such panache in the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League; the man who, for all his mediocre record in international cricket, remembers the great legacy of West Indian Test cricket--who appreciates the weight of so precious a burden on the captain's shoulders, even though he can hardly stake a regular place in the team?

Ganga's comments were very laudable, but they are hardly unusual; who doesn't remember the West Indian juggernaut of the 1980s, vicious on the field but gents off it, flamboyant batsmen and fast--genuinely, heart-stoppingly fast--bowlers to take the breath away--who doesn't remember that with a twinge of nostalgia?

And however admirable Ganga's views are, they are hardly enough to catapult a squad-hopeful into captaincy. Doing so, moreover, could easily stir tension in the ranks between Gayle and Ganga, teammates who through no fault of their own have unwittingly been pitched into very awkward territory by the self-righteous Mr. Roebuck. Doing so could hurt West Indies cricket, and badly.

It is easy to point fingers at Gayle; his captaincy in England was disgraceful, he batted without a care in the world and led with slumped shoulders and an air of frank boredom. And I have scant sympathy for those who sacrifice a very promising Test career for the quick bucks of Twenty20 leagues, but, in all honesty, Gayle's overall record as captain, that England farce aside, has been more than decent.

He has, for one thing, led with the bat. Those who snorted at his reckless flails in England would do well to look a few months back; he piloted the West Indies to a respectable draw in New Zealand, a second-innings 197 in the second Test combining commendable patience and tempestuous brute force. He then captained them to victory at home against England. True, the only Test with a result in that series had more to do with sporadic brilliance than anything, but Gayle led from the front, with 292 runs at a stout 48.67. In between and afterward there was explosive hitting in the one-day and T20 formats of the game, but batting well in limited-overs cricket is not a sin if you can replicate it in the Test arena. He may not particularly cherish Test cricket, but Gayle the batsman and leader has performed.

So for all his devil-may-care attitude and apparent indifference, Gayle deserves--at least in the short run--the captaincy. And instead of yarping on about Daren Ganga's missed opportunity--he captained T & T in Twenty20s too, remember, not in Test cricket--and spewing out invectives like "half-baked" and "busted flush" (Mr. Roebuck spitting nails here), it would be best to remember that Ganga deserves better than to get shoved into the spotlight for a few well-chosen words. As a steady and intelligent opener, and as a good thinker on the field, he may certainly merit a place in the squad. So, too, may some of Floyd Reifer's unfortunates who held their own with admirable sang-froid and enthusiasm in the absence of the senior players (and it is heartening to see the board for once take note by including fast bowlers Gavin Tonge and Kemar Roach). But to suddenly nominate Ganga as captain will ultimately hurt not only Gayle and Ganga, but West Indian cricket too.

Ibrahim Moiz is a university student and a freelance writer currently based in Toronto.