West Indian supporters must rally around the team
By Rawle Welch
Kaieteur News
March 12, 2007
CEO for Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, Chris Dehring, said at the launching of the Events Stakeholders ‘Road Show' at the Le Meridien Pegasus last year that “we have to become one, failure is not an option,” well those words have become even more pertinent now after watching West Indies final warm up game against India last Friday.
That famous statement was not made in reference to action on the field or asking cricket lovers to rally around their team, but more to do with those associated with the preparations for hosting CWC 2007.
However, after having to endure another dismal batting performance, that pronouncement appears to appeal to the many West Indian fans who were hoping for a positive display ahead of their opening encounter against Pakistan tomorrow.
Being the hosts and playing in conditions familiar to them, no ardent West Indian fan could have possibly envisaged such a disastrous event tenuously occurring to their team just a few days away from the start of their campaign to win the Cup for a third time.
Add to that all the negatives that have been reported via the media over the past few days about disunity in the team, the lack of proper preparation and the continuous incidence of difference of opinions, this team will need an outpouring of support from regional fans to ignite them psychologically since that particular weakness has been expertly exploited by opposing teams recently.
Now is not the time to abandon the team, it is one of the most critical periods in the history of West Indies cricket and any result other that a semi-final spot could have dire consequences for the future of the sport in the Caribbean.
Seeded at No.8 on the ICC rankings and not possessing the marketability to secure five tests series any longer coupled with the fact that we have an increased amount of stadiums in the region right now, winning the Cup must be the priority for us.
It is now incumbent on us (supporters) to create the impetus for our stars with our positive remarks that they can feed on and return pride and joy to the region.
Let us forget all the negatives that has seeped into out cricket and strive to regain our rightful place as one of the outstanding teams in the world, a position we once held, during the glory days of the 80's and early 90's.
We can do it and with the fans critical support, we will do it.