BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) - West Indies selection chairman Sir Vivian Richards has conceded that he is losing patience with developing cricketers in the team.
Following Saturday’s eight-wicket loss to England inside three days in the third Cable & Wireless Test in Barbados, Sir Vivian knocked players in the squad and accused some of them of “going backwards”.
“We are at a stage now where we are not learning as quickly as we should," Sir Vivian said in a radio interview on Voice of Barbados (VOB).
“When you have individuals who have been given enough opportunities, and opportunities in my view for you to be competitive, I haven’t seen individuals learning, and learning rapidly the way I think they should in order for them to go forward,” Sir Vivian added.
“I am a little bit worried … you can play a lot but some have not learnt a lot,” he added.
The West Indies are facing an unprecedented home series whitewash against England, who lead the four-match series 3-0 entering the final match in Antigua this weekend.
Saturday’s result at Kensington Oval meant it was the first time in 36 years that England had won a Test series in the Caribbean.
England bowled out West Indies for 47 en route to a 10-wicket win in the first Test at Sabina Park and won the second Test in Trinidad and Tobago by seven wickets.
Sir Vivian hopes his players will motivate themselves and rebound to avoid defeat -- and a whitewash -- at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG).
“You allow yourself to be disgraced, if you may call it that particular word, you have an opportunity, if given an opportunity to get it done.
You can help to pick yourself up,” said the 52-year-old Antiguan batting legend.
Sir Vivian, who scored 8 540 runs -- including 24 centuries -- in a 17-year Test career from 1974 to 1991, suggested that players must learn to transform the ability they have into a formula for success and triumph.
“We have found some individuals who can play the game. We need individuals who are clear thinkers of what needs to be done and to work around how it should be done.
“We have some individuals who remain totally stagnant in terms of the progress of learning and moving forward.
“Ability is going to take you so far, the thinking factor and all that stuff come into play and if you cannot do that on a regular basis it means that you are not ready for this,” he said.