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'No silver bullet': Bascombe says resignations won’t solve deep-rooted issues
Written by Sports Desk. Posted in Windies. | 18 July 2025 | 1928 Views
Tags: Dr Kishore Shallow, Miles Bascombe

Amid intensifying calls for the resignation of West Indies head coach Darren Sammy, Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dr. Kishore Shallow, and director of cricket Miles Bascombe, the latter insists that stepping down would not magically resolve the Test team’s chronic struggles.

Former West Indies selector Lockhart Sebastien and legendary fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts have joined the chorus calling for sweeping changes in the wake of the Windies’ historic collapse—being skittled out for a record-low 27 in their third Test against Australia in Jamaica.

But Bascombe, while acknowledging the gravity of the performance, contends that no silver bullet or immediate reshuffle in leadership will change the regional side’s fortunes.

"There is no real excuse for being bowled out for 27, and you don’t try to explain that away. You just try to get on with the business," Bascombe said on the Mason and Guest show.

Much like Dr. Shallow did, Bascombe defended Sammy’s dual role as head coach and sole selector, as he pointed out that the former captain has brought hard work and commitment to the setup.

"Even with that result, there is a lot of hard work that has gone into preparing the team,” Bascombe asserted.

"There are a lot of positives we can take from the performance of the team, especially from the bowling unit, and someone like Brandon King, who showed maturity and that as a debutant he really wanted to be there and that the stage was not necessarily above his level," he added.

Still, Bascombe admitted that the batting unit needs urgent technical attention.

"We definitely need someone who is a technician and can look at these techniques, break them down to help the players identify their deficiencies, and, most importantly, be able to put an intervention plan in place and develop the drills to get the players doing the right things to arrest those deficiencies," Bascombe noted.

That said, Bascombe argued that the problems plaguing West Indies cricket are systemic, not individual, as he sought to quell calls for heads to roll as frustration mounts across the Caribbean cricketing landscape. 

"There is no silver bullet to fixing West Indies cricket. There is nothing that can be done in a week or a month. No change of personnel that could happen in the short term is going to turn around our fortunes. Our challenges are systemic, and so we have to address the challenges at the system level. That’s what I see my role as being," Bascombe declared.