The Rediff Interview/ Ian Bishop

'It’s going to be a tough tour for this young team'

The fastest West Indian to take 100 wickets in Test cricket, Ian Bishop would have scaled great heights but for his injuries.

A bowler capable of moving the ball both ways -- off the wicket as well as in the air, Bishop has now retired. He made his debut against England at Leeds in 1988, when the West Indies were a very formidable side, and saw the rot set in as well by the time he retired in 1997/98.

The former West Indian fast bowler spoke to Ashish Magotra about what ails West Indian cricket and the team's chances on the current tour.

Do you see West Indies cricket in decline or has the revival started?

I think it’s quite obvious that out cricket has been going downwards for a long time now. Our standard has certainly dropped in almost every area. But over the last year or so, things have bottomed out and have just started to lift a bit. Still a long way to go but you see encouraging signs.

When you talk about the decline, what do you attribute it to?

Well, it can be attributed to a lot of things. I don’t believe any one thing in particular; a lot of elements have come together. American sports have certainly played their part in the sense that a lot of our youngsters are now playing soccer, which is not basically American, and they are playing a lot of basketball as well. They watch a lot of American sports live because they get it on cable television.

The lack of coaching and all sorts of others elements are also coming into play.

The West Indian board has launched a cricket academy in Grenada. Have you seen it?

I have been there. I have had a look at it. It's impressive. Maybe not as impressive as the one or two of the other academies around the world but at least it's a start for us. It's a good initiative and things will keep improving as the years go by but I think it has been needed in West Indies cricket for a very long time.

There are not too many players of West Indian origin playing professional sports in America. So why the decline?

From a basketball point of view, certainly not a lot have gone through. You have to go through the college system in America but a lot of our youngsters actually play basketball in Trinidad and Tobago and they also watch a lot of basketball. There is a definite influence; cable television is a very big part of society. So part of the market share has gone to other sports.

Any young West Indian players we should look out for?

There are, maybe, a handful of players who at this time seem to showing obvious potential. A couple of young guys from Trinidad and Tobago, Lendl Simmons, who went for the West Indies ‘A’ team tour of England, and young fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, those are two names that come to mind immediately. But there is no doubt that along the way you will find one or two fast bowlers.

Who do you see as the top contenders for the World Cup?

India has to be one of the favourites because they have a young team that's batting well, a couple of good bowlers and they are fielding well. You cannot eliminate Australia because they have been playing very well and they will play well on those types on bouncy pitches. South Africa, as hosts, will always be in the reckoning. So those are three teams that I believe will perform well on South African pitches.

Do you think packing the side (India) with seven batsman, knowing that their bowlers cannot get them the wickets and will just keep the runs down to a minimum is the right way to go?

I think that is debatable because Zaheer Khan has performed very well for India in both forms of the game over the last year. He has taken wickets and been economical. Ashish Nehra, for my money, is also a wicket-taking bowler but he is not always that economical. Anil Kumble, even though his form has dropped off, has done very well. Harbhajan Singh can do both jobs. So it’s just a matter of finding a good back-up for the bowlers.

The batting has been exceptional, so it’s just a matter of how many batsmen you have and how many of your bowlers can bat, because the four Indian out-and-out bowlers cannot bat.

When you talk about Brian Lara, the first thing that comes to your mind is the way he led the West Indies as captain. His batting has always been special but do you think in his capacity as a leader he has been disappointing?

Of course, it’s disappointing, and Lara will be the first to tell you that. The type of results that were expected from him, for one reason or another, he didn’t manage to achieve them. So yes, he has a very good cricketing brain but in getting the team to gel together, he was never able to achieve that.

When you talk about gelling, there was a lot of inter-island rivalry in the early West Indian teams (1950s). Frank Worrel is attributed with ending that rivalry and Clive Lloyd with gelling them into a winning unit. Do you think that the rivalry is flaring up again?

Yes, there was inter-island rivalry and there still is, but for all the wrong reasons. I think you need inter-island rivalry to have that competitive spirit. Each island drives the other to become better and to improve themselves. But right now it is heading into the wrong direction. I think you have got to try and outperform the other person instead of trying to keep them down. Discipline rather the lack of it has been very evident in our younger players and there are no two ways about that. And that, I suppose, has a lot to do with globalisation; that influx of foreign elements coming in, players not working as hard as they should because they have so many other options. So that is a huge part of why we are taking so long to get out of this abyss we find ourselves in.

Was the inter-island rivalry around in your time too?

I have seen both aspects and been a part of both aspects of our history. In the sense that when I came into the side we were world beaters, a very strong team, and then, maybe, 3-4 years into my career there was a decline. So I have had a good view of success and also of failure. I think the reasons identified are part and parcel of the game in the West Indies.

When you first came onto the scene, you were regarded as one of the best bowlers of the world. Your strike rate was amongst the best in the world. How do you view your career?

I just played and enjoyed myself. All that is history now. What is important now, from my perspective and the West Indies cricket, is to try to put something back and help these young guys, at whatever level, if it’s at grass-roots level, just to get some young players coming through with ideal cricketing skills.

How do you view this tour as: good preparation for the young West Indian team?

This tour is not preparation; this is Test match cricket. Preparation goes on before. This is what you prepare for and it’s going to be full of hard knocks for the West Indies. No Brian Lara, India is always a place to tour because of the fanatical support for the home team, the conditions, lack of bounce and lots of turn are ideally suited to the Indian bowlers and the batsman. So it’s not preparation; it’s what you prepare all your life to play. It’s going to be a tough tour for this young team.

Do you see India as coming out on top?

West Indies will have to play very well. The first Test is very important in a three-match series. You don’t have much time to come back.

Marlon Samuels was not in the playing eleven for the first Test. On the tour of Australia in 2000, he looked like the best West Indian bastman on view, added to that he can bowl useful off-spin. Are you surprised that he can’t find a place in the squad?

He did perform well in Australia but that was two years ago. He has lost his form since has come back from South Africa. He still has not put together a first class hundred in domestic cricket. Was in poor form against South Africa, got injured had a knee operation missed about 8-9 months and only recently has he made his comeback. So he hasn’t been able to prove himself with the bat.

So in that case is it surprising that despite his lack of form, Samuels is still in the team. Does that show the lack of talent available in West Indies?

No, Samuels is a highly talented cricketer. He showed enough to get into the 15 based on his experience and his talent. But you have to remember there are some pretty talented players in the team. Ryan Hinds has been around for quite some time and he has scored runs in first class cricket. Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle and others have been performing well too. So he will have to wait for his chance.

Interviews

Mail Cricket Editor