da casino： Gus Logie, the new coach of West Indies, is no stranger to the job
da aviator aposta： Wisden CricInfo exclusive by Nagraj Gollapudi23-Jul-2003Gus Logie, the new coach of West Indies, is no stranger to the job. He has coached the national team at the under-15, under-19 and A-team levels, and served as interim coach during the recent home series against Australia and Sri Lanka. An extremely agile fielder during his playing days, Logie is clear about his objective: rebuilding West Indian cricket to its former glory. Speaking to Wisden CricInfo on the telephone, Logie told Nagraj Gollapudi about his new job, the West Indian team, and the state of West Indies cricket in general.How important is this latest appointment to you?
I think it is an important role – not only for me personally, but for West Indies cricket. I have been involved with coaching young people in the Caribbean at different levels of their development – under-15, under-19 and the A team – so I feel that it is a continuation [for me] of providing inputs at the national level. I think it is a great opportunity and hopefully we can make a success out of it in the not-too-distant future.How strong is the young talent in the Caribbean?
We have tremendous young talent, but that talent needs development – not just in cricketing terms, but all-round development. And that is not just in the context of the coach-player relationship, but society, too, has a role to play and so does everyone responsible with cricket in the Caribbean. All the stakeholders need to get on board and make sure that they take the right decisions, create the right environment and the right atmosphere so that our players are developed along the right lines.It’s long been said that the regional coaches are not certified and so the wards who turn up to play are not strong in their fundamentals. Do you agree with that?
I don’t believe in that. We didn’t have certified or qualified coaches when West Indies produced great players in the past. In this advanced age, it is a global village now and all the information is there for everyone to look at. You can’t just have only one specific individual in one area. During my time, a village individual who knew something about coaching used to spend time with us [the players], read us some coaching books and help us along, whereas now it’s an open book. Everybody is aware of what is needed and there are players ready to share ideas with the young ones. At the end of the day the retention of what you’ve learnt is very important and for that our education system has to improve. If you show young players ways of doing things and if they can’t retain that knowledge, then we have a problem. We need to improve on all fronts to get the right individuals in place.Viv Richards has blasted coaches in the Caribbean for not properly preparing young cricketers to make the transition from domestic to international level. Do you agree?
I wouldn’t agree or disagree with another player’s opinion. But as a coach, I would like the state of affairs to change and for the coaches to have access to technology. The players keep coming and going in and out of the team so the coach doesn’t have a player for an extended length of time. For example, a bunch of 14 or 15 is selected to play a tournament for a period of four to five weeks; but then, as coach, I don’t have enough information on a player of what he did at the school-level or club-level, as here in the Caribbean we don’t monitor a player’s history. So at the end of the day whatever information is collected about a player – if he is player of substance – by the coach has to be done in a very short period of time. I wouldn’t blame the coaches.Why do you think West Indies cricket lost its way in the last decade?
I think our economies have shrunk in some ways. At the stage when we were dominating the game, which was a crucial era, our economies were improving. Now we are no longer the best and we need to improve in terms of overall facilities. There’s a lot of criticism in that area – like it’s a fact that we go and play day-and-night games outside, but we can’t even host one day-and-night match in the Caribbean. Why is that? We have been champions for decades and former stars and like-minded people have stressed on the improvement of facilities. The climate here is such that it rains for almost six months of a year in some parts, but there are no indoor facilities for players to train.With the economy on a downswing, there are hardly any facilities one can avail of. The club facilities are limited, and you don’t have access to the gym after a day’s play where you can work out. So you need support from all sectors of society to make sure that youngsters get the best of the facilities, which are around the corner. If that’s not there they cannot go to England where many of our best players competed in the county circuit. Nowadays, there is no one from the Caribbean playing county cricket in England. So a young player will not have the opportunity to develop into a complete professional quickly compared to his predecessors. Something has to be done – of course, it will take time.Then there is the problem of fast bowlers. Why can’t West Indies produce quality quickies anymore?
I don’t think [that is] so. The problem is of pitches, which need to improve to encourage the fast bowlers again. I have seen some young fast bowlers, but it is very difficult to bowl on the kind of pitches that exist in the Caribbean today. This is one area that needs attention. When we look back in the last year we have performed well in Antigua and then in our last Test against Sri Lanka in Jamaica which was a good wicket. Our young pace attack picked up wickets there, which proves that if the wickets are conducive our bowlers can provide the goods.So the pitches have slowed down?
They are becoming a lot slower. I wouldn’t like to say why – whether the soil has got to do something with it or if it is lack of preparation. But we all know that it is an issue which needs to be addressed quickly. It is possible to prepare good tracks that will be helpful to both batsmen and bowlers, as we saw in Jamaica and Antigua. It is something the other Caribbean countries may have to take note of.Is there a pool of young talent from which you can pick when needed?
At this point of time we have Jerome Taylor, who has made a good impression. So has Fidel Edwards, who bowled impressively in his debut Test. Then there are Andrew Richardson, Tino Best, Darren Powell and Ravi Rampal, who has excelled at all levels (Under-15 and Under-19) before showing his heroics in the under-19 World Cup. So there are quite a few youngsters who are good and with continual development programmes I am sure we could have six to seven players waiting in the stable to have a go anytime.What gave you the confidence to go into the Jamaica Test against Sri Lanka with two greenhorns in Edwards and Taylor?
Well, I think when we looked at what had happened in the past we thought that the conditions were ideal to give the two a chance. They were young, enthusiastic, aggressive, fit and they showed their keenness during the practice sessions – all qualities needed in a good bowler, and the captain, coach and the selection committee couldn’t have asked for more. Whatever they lacked in experience they made up for with courage and attitudeHave there been any changes after Richards became the chairman of selectors?
I don’t think at this point of time one can pass judgement across the board, but there have been positives. What we would like is to have more consultations between all parties at the end of the day and Viv’s done a good job in that direction.What do you think about Lara’s captaincy?
He has matured a lot. He is getting more involved with what is happening in and around the team. He is a motivation to younger players and is leading from the front. He has a good rapport with the management.Do you see a revival of the Windies cricket under him?
I certainly see a revival of West Indies cricket – whether it’s under Brian, or by the players. At the end of the day we all have a responsibility where each player needs to support the other. If each one knows what has to be done, is committed to it and the work ethic improves then we need to give credit to all the players about what has happened so far.Gus, you were an extremely good fielder in your time. But the present West Indies lot are a poor fielding unit. How will you improve on that?
There’s no substitute for hard work and going out there and working on your individual skills. Also, in the near future, the WICB should organise more fielding camps where the players can work on the technical skills and concentration levels, as a momentary lapse can cost dearly in a match situation. The players themselves should go out in the ground and throw themselves around, but then the state of the grounds in the Caribbean doesn’t give you that liberty.Do you think the Shell Academy – nursery of West Indies cricket – is serving its purpose?
Certainly. I wouldn’t like to comment [further] at this point of time.West Indies have had seven full-time coaches – all former players – from 1992 until now. What is it that you bring to the job?
All I can do is bring forth my philosophy of cricket – a philosophy we have been successful with, in terms of ensuring a certain level of commitment and work ethic among all team members. It’s important that all players respect one-another and play as a unit. My job will be to create an environment which the players are comfortable with, and one which allows them to play to the best of their abilities. We have seen some positive movement in that regard, and would like to continue to move in that direction.Are you in favour of having assistant coaches?
Oh, yes. I would be happy to have individual coaches, for bowling and batting, or anyone in general as it is very difficult to individually handle 15 players – especially if it is a long tour. And during match days it is really difficult to attend to individual problems so yes, there’s room for an assistant. And there are indications that an assistant will be appointed.
