3 things that current West Indies team can learn from Brian Charles Lara

The West Indies, not for the first time, were completely outplayed by the Aussies Down Under. While surely the First Test saw some grit from the visitors who lasted until the fifth and final day of the contest, Brathwaite’s team weren’t really able to make a contest out of the Second and final test. That said, is there some lesson that needs to be drawn from Brian Lara. If so, what is it? Let’s make an attempt.

Temerity – Kraigg Brathwaite has got loads of it, as does Jermaine Blackwood. The duo demonstrated just that with rich aplomb when they held the English at bay in the Caribbean in early 2022. Brathwaite, vice-captain, can do a lot better. He must. There are no cutting corners. Why can’t temerity be the weapon of choice, as it should, against an opposition as strong as Straya! 

Focus for long hours – Lara wasn’t just a smasher of the cricket ball nor was he just the rattler of the bowler’s confidence. In effect, The Prince as we lovingly call him was able to do just that thanks to the ability to bat for long hours.

Desire – Lara had loads of it; in a lighter vein, his instinct for domination is famous everywhere. Ask them girls! But to come to the point, there’s always been the desire to take the fight to the opposition. To not squander in face of odds and when one faces an opponent such as Australia, the chances of them being overwhelming are but certain. Do the current West Indies batters barring the captain and to an extent, and in random events, Blackwood or Chase, have that desire to fight it out?

To elaborate- Lara’s aren’t made in T20 or franchise cricket circus, with much respect to these formats that have, well and truly, provided employment and a sense of economic certainty. Truth be told, Lara didn’t become Lara just like that; by his admission, he practiced using a bat shaped out of the coconut. He’d spend hours hitting pebbles using a stick! It’s all out there. It’s in the interviews and rich anecdotes using which Lara’s said- since always- his tale.

“You don’t need a group of superstars, you need a team working together to bring you better results – West Indies team can learn from Brian Charles Lara“

Real cricket, whether you like it or not, will always be Test Cricket that must be upheld. 

And to conclude, it’s really a matter of choice in the end- the same man you are seeing whacking Rashid Khan can perhaps still do it for the national team. But are we nuts- can’t men who have so much inspiration behind them, the legacy, not walk suit? Yes, the infrastructure back in the Caribbean sucks. It truly is an awful situation when you lack the basic coaching facilities and the paraphernalia that modern coaching and guidance warrants.

But please tell me, tell the fans- did Sir Viv, Sir Sobers and Mr. Brian Charles Lara were EXPOSED to the high-tech gadgets, the well-oiled machinery that contemporary training, coaching provides?

Today this West Indies team doesn’t even have a sponsor, but can that be an excuse for a lack of performance?
Have we really not seen the Fire In Babylon- did Holding and company shudder with fear when Tony Grieg (the legendary Tony Grieg) came out with something as outlandish as “I want to make them Grovel.”

Current West Indies team – please ask yourself, did your yesteryear’s icons- not channelise that inner desire to lift themselves up!

The moment you’ll answer that question, you’ll PERHAPS lift yourself up. And it’s not that you aren’t trying- that Windies Cricket team took the previous Test to the fifth day at Perth was itself evidence of the fight. 

But surely, we can do a lot better. The likes of Holder, considered, and this is with much respect to the “premier all rounder,” need to get their acts together. 

Youngsters like Da Silva, thankfully some runs in the first inning, Adelaide Test, need to grind.

That love for grind, so amply evident in legends like Shiv Chanderpaul, needs to rub off on today’s team members. Gladly, there’s Tagenarine. 

What a fantastic sight it is to see the young man showing a fight. For someone who’s but a cricketing newborn for all intents and purposes stayed put occupied the crease at Perth for no fewer than 277 minutes.

So let’s face facts; it’s not that there’s a dearth of talent. That’s not even the case. But come on, we can do a lot better.

If you cannot relate to the generation of The Viv’s, the Sir Sobers, Roy Fredericks for whatever reason, then why can’t you simply sit down with your Lara’s and Chanderpaul’s?