Legendary fast bowler Michael Holding has chosen to empathise with the West Indies players for deciding to return home abruptly over a pay dispute while slamming the Caribbean cricket board for the sport's constant downfall in the region. Holding said lack of proper administration is the sole cause for the current crisis and the reason behind the West Indies cricket's struggle for many years now.
"All will be fine in West Indies cricket when we get proper administration. We have the talent, we just need proper administration, something we don't have at the moment," Holding told PTI when asked whether the players would be able to recover from the latest setback and help the team regain its lost glory. Later in his column, Holding feared "fierce repercussions" for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for deciding to call off the India tour over pay issues with its players and upsetting the powerful BCCI.
The 60-year-old, who still looks as fit as a fiddle, said Marlon Samuels' second hundred in the series showed the West Indies are high on talent and have enough players who are capable of turning a match around. "He played great. It just shows that the team has many players who can do the job at the highest level and he is one of them. We just need proper administration," said Holding referring to the batting all-rounder's 112 last night, even though West Indies slumped to a 59-run defeat against India in fourth ODI to lose the series 1-2.
The players had threatened to go back home even before the first one-dayer on October 8. They finally called off the series after the fourth ODI at Dharamsala on Friday. Considering the challenging circumstances, they gained a lot of respect after winning the first ODI but thereafter failed to keep up the momentum.
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