Brian LaraNo? We thought as much! There weren’t many on show either. And it was their home tournament; one they expected to do well in. But unfortunately, one again, internal politics and lack of coherence in the team (much like India, really) got the better of them. Brian Lara tried, both as captain and batsman, but after the first few matches, there was an air of resignation around him. None of his young stars had delivered and didn’t even look like they belonged there.

Dwayne Bravo was the next big thing in West Indian cricket but scores of 9, 16, 37*, 18 and 6 (not in any order) hardly indicate the talent that lies there. The 37*, his highest for the tournament, was against Zimbabwe and came in 54 balls. Like most others in the team, Bravo also did not look like he was interested in excelling. West Indies had promised much after their win over Pakistan (the win that came after being mauled by India) but just did not deliver.

One only hopes that players like Bravo don’t go the route some recent West Indian talents have. Franklin Rose, Ricardo Powell and Pedro Collins (where is he?) are a few of names that race to mind. In fact, so strong was Ricardo Powell’s aura that it completely destroyed him! He last played for the West Indies in 2005 (August 7 against India in Colombo) and will perhaps never play for them again. He was in the team for a good six years and some may argue that constitutes a career. On the international stage, though, he should have been able to put in a few more years. He was only 25 when he was dropped and at 27, is still in contention. But when was the last time you heard his name?

Franklin Rose is another such player. A true one-series wonder, he decimated India in 1996-97 and by 2000, was out of the team. Fifty-three wickets in 19 Tests over three years is not a record any international player wants to be credited with. But the problem is that he was never groomed to last on the international stage. Just like Powell and Collins weren’t. Collins is still in contention and with Darren Powell can form a potent opening bowling combination. But are the Windies prepared to take care of them as players and show them how to deal with stardom? It’s all part of the game. And to be fair, they could not handle Lara too well either. It was more Lara being handled by everyone else and keeping his wits about him that let him stay in the game for the last 16 years.

Again one can argue that players like Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle are stars in their own right. No argument. But to move from being stars “in their own right” to genuine stars, they need that final push. They need a winning team. They all have the talent, but they don’t seem to use it at the same time. And to do that for over 10 years is a fantastic achievement!

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