Butcher: ‘Time for systems reboot’

By Jonteau Coppin

West Indies cricket needs a complete overhaul in order to develop batsmen at the required level for Test cricket.

That’s the verdict of former Barbados and England cricketer Roland Butcher, who in a wide-ranging interview with Barbados TODAY, stated that the current system from grassroots upwards, does not lend itself to producing high class Test batsmen. He said an examination of the batting averages of both the players in and outside the Test team painted a sorry picture.

“Until we get our first-class cricket right where batsmen are scoring heavily and demanding a play, nothing will change. If you look at someone like Mike Hussey, when he played for Australia, he had scored ten thousand first class runs which means he had been putting runs on the board before he eventually got his chance. We do not have anyone like that. If there are players outside of the team averaging in the twenties in regional cricket, then you will stick with the players currently averaging in the twenties in Test cricket,” he said.

Butcher, who has also served as a cricket administrator, said the problems which exist with West Indies batting was not down to one aspect but rather a reflection of the cricket structure in the Caribbean.

“The product we see in Test cricket is a result of what we see in first class cricket. The product you get in first class cricket is a result of what we see in club cricket which is the product of youth cricket. If a batsman has a faulty technique in club cricket, then they will have one in first class cricket unless it is rectified,” he explained.

Butcher stressed that there was a need for qualified coaches at a higher level working from the grassroots level upward to the Test arena and said it was something that should be examined and improved on going forward.

He also gave his take on West Indies’ dismal showing in the Test series against South Africa, describing the regional side’s performance as a miserable failure in the first real challenge they have faced in recent times. He blamed their capitulation in the series on a lack of preparation regionally.

After beating Bangladesh away from home in a two-Test series and winning both the One-day and T20 series against Sri Lanka, the West Indies took on South Africa in the multi-format series on the back of that good momentum but ultimately came up short.

“The Test series was not even close really. We were completely outplayed in all departments, particularly our batting which was of a very low standard. Obviously, South Africa have a good bowling attack but the way we played was quite average. It showed the deficiencies in our batting, particularly against good fast bowling and the moving ball when it seams or swings. There was also a question mark in terms of how much were we prepared for a fight,” he said.

Across the Test series the West Indies failed to pass two hundred runs in any of their four innings, having been bowled out for 97 in the first test. They also only managed to chase down a score of 160-plus once in three attempts in the T20s.

However, Butcher stressed the players alone were not to be blamed, stating that “if you are not used to something, chances are you will succumb to it. Our players do not play on fast bouncy pitches, regionally or anywhere else so they do not get that exposure. When they face it at international level, it is a new experience for them that they must adjust to. If you are playing club cricket and first-class cricket and the ball is mostly at hip height, when you play against people who get it up to head height, it will be impossible for you to cope. We do not play enough quality cricket lower down to prepare us for the top level,” he suggested.

Butcher also noted that the West Indies T20 team needed a rethink of its strategy after losing the T20 series against the Proteas. He said the batting order needed a player who could stabilise an innings as a Plan B while other explosive batsmen bat around him. He suggested the current line-up would win games but not tournaments.

“The strategy suggests that they are just focused on hitting fours and sixes and if you look at the batting line up from one to eight there is nobody in that first eight that can build an innings back so West Indies are quite easy to play against. They are quite predictable, once one player gets out you know exactly how the others will play. You cannot rely on players coming in and playing positively all the time. In this team you probably need someone like a Roston Chase who will give you that stability and four overs out of him as well. The team lacks stability,” he said.

Butcher stated that for West Indies’ attacking style of play to work consistently, the players failing needed to front up and put performances on the table or the selectors possibly needed to look elsewhere. However, he stressed that the upcoming T20 World Cup was not the be all and end all for West Indies cricket and planning for the team should look beyond that.