Being a professional athlete means more than just what a person is capable of doing in the field of play. A pro should always be trying to improve in his or her craft, putting in the hours to maintain high levels of fitness, honing their skills, improving on their weaknesses and solidifying their strengths.
The very best ones go on to become stars and superstars while the role players ensure that playing standards remain high. We see that in the NBA, NFL, Premier League, LaLiga and other competitions that command the attention of tens of millions of people globally.
Cricket is no different.
The batsmen, who are among the best work hard to be at peak physical levels. They study the game and become masters of their sport. They undertake mental exercises that ensure that their minds remain alert, sharp for those critical moments in a competition where all the elements of their preparation come together in the execution of that decisive moment that alters the course of a match.
With all this in mind, how do some of our cricketers explain coming into the 2020 Hero CPL looking like giant blowfish?
Even with the uncertainty of the times when the pandemic is raging, there was always the possibility that the CPL would be on. The IPL, too, is also a possibility. Several of these players have contracts with franchises in the richest T20 league in the world.
So, what explains their decision to come to play looking like me after months of sitting at home stuffing my face with goodies from my kitchen? It’s embarrassing. And I am not the only one who believes this.
One former cricketer mentioned in a group of which I am a member that one of the players was as thick as Berbice mud.
The reactions on social media were equally telling.
“Cricketers here look like “Gerber Babies and Pillsbury man”, “COVID Realization: West Indies cricketers care zero about belly appearance”.
It is even more embarrassing when you see the players from other countries, who are also experiencing the pandemic, looking fit and sharp. I will take the opportunity here to heap praise upon Andre Russell, who has come in looking lean and ready. If you follow his Instagram you see the work he puts in as he prepared to compete in the CPL and later this year, the IPL.
Unfortunately, there are others who lack similar levels of commitment to professionalism.
Maybe that is why West Indies cricket struggles the way it does. It’s all about attitude and aptitude and the perception right now is that some of the region’s best players lack both.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Shai, Kyle Hope to miss regional Super50 competition after testing positive for coronavirus
Out of favour West Indies batsman Shai Hope and brother Kyle will be among three players to miss out on the CG Insurance Super50 Cup, after returning positive COVID-19 results in the latest round of PCR tests.
The Hope brothers, who would have represented Barbados Tridents, will be joined on the sidelines by Jamaican left-handed opener Trevon Griffith who was part of the Guyana Jaguars batting line-up. The latest round of tests was conducted on Sunday.
The Barbados Pride have already named Zachary McCaskie and Tevyn Walcott as replacements for the Hopes, while Kemol Savory has been named as the replacement for Griffith in the Jaguars squad.
The trio will remain in their respective territories where there will be required to follow local COVID-19 protocols.
All other members of the Barbados Pride and Guyana Jaguars squads returned negative COVID-19 tests and will undergo second tests on Thursday, January 28 before travelling for the tournament, as part of CWI's established protocols.
The CG Insurance Super50 Cup will be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground and Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from Sunday, February 7 to Saturday, February 27. On opening day, Leeward Islands Hurricanes will host arch-rivals Windward Islands Volcanoes at CCG.
'I'm up for the fight' - Roach ready to put in hard work needed to take Bangladesh wickets
West Indies fast bowler, Kemar Roach, insists he is ready for the challenge of trying to take wickets on Bangladesh pitches, despite the surfaces being more suited to spin-bowling.
Despite the presence of several spinners in the squad, the 32-year-old is expected to lead the West Indies bowling line-up, along with fellow pace bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph. If the dominance of spinners in the One Day International series, on pitches that offered very little assistance to pace bowlers, is anything to go by they will certainly have their work cut out.
Having been in Bangladesh on two prior Test series, Roach would know first-hand what it takes to succeed on spin-friendly terrain.
In 2011, he claimed 0 for 52 off 9 overs and 1 for 49 off 13.2 overs in the second Test of the series. When he returned in 2018, he claimed 1 for 74 off 18 overs in the first Test and 2 for 61 in 25 overs as Bangladesh made a mammoth 500 in the second Test.
“It mostly favours the spinners but I think there is enough there for fast bowlers to get something as well. It’s just about having your plans, executing, and being disciplined,” Roach told members of the media via a press conference from Bangladesh on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be tough, we know we have to bowl a lot more overs to get our rewards but once you are willing to put the work in you can get some rewards over here…so it’s going to be tough but I’m up for the fight.”
The Windies have had recent success with pace bowling in Bangladesh with Tino Best claiming a five-for in 2012 and Fidel Edwards claiming 8 wickets in the 2011 series.
'Extra time helps us prepare for 'difficult' conditions' - WI spinner Cornwall grateful for long lead-up to Test series
West Indies spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, believes the unusually long preparation time before the start of the Bangladesh Test series has been beneficial for players needing to get used to ‘difficult’ conditions.
The regional team arrived in Bangladesh on January 10 and was required to quarantine for 7 days based on the country’s COVID-19 protocols. Since clearing that hurdle, however, the Test team has been free to train and will not start the series until February 1.
The Asian team is known for being particularly difficult to beat on their home turf and easily dispatched the West Indies 2-0 on their last visit in 2018. One of those advantages is said to be the team’s pitches.
“It has helped (extra time) you have to adapt to these conditions. These conditions are difficult to play in, so the more time we get to understand the conditions is the better it is for us,” Cornwall said.
“It spins a bit more here. It is always going to be drier than the Caribbean. So, we just have to adapt to it and play to the best of our ability,” he added.
The inexperienced West Indies team will be hoping for a better showing than in the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series where the team was summarily swept aside 3-0. The ODI batting line-up found the top class Bangladesh spinners on the surfaces a difficult task to cope with.
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