|| Tatenda Taibu ||

Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe and recently Australia and South Africa cricket teams have all suffered a negative public image at the hands of internal disputes between either players and administration or board and players etc.

There were few to none disputes when the West Indies ruled world cricket during the 1970s. There was a few to none as well during the dominating Australian era from the late nineties to the early 21^st century. Based on that analysis then one can assume that either India, England, New Zealand, or Bangladesh, are more likely to be the next cricket dominators for the next decade should the other countries continue to have disputes. Ireland, Afghanistan and all other cricketing nations are yet to be tried and tested when they get to play more Test cricket and ODIs as the winds of cricket shifts through the years will also be assessed.   

What makes a cricket organization click? Some say it lies with the coach while some point it at the captain as the man who rallies the troop on the park who determine the final outcome for the organization. Others say that it all depends on the group of eleven or the squad of sixteen on tour, as Darren Sammy mentioned after winning the World T20 in India in 2015. Some would point fingers at the board since it is them who set the long term goals and direction of the organization. Others think that it’s the administrators who undoubtedly set the goals. Different people always have different opinions.

While the above are true however, they are partly true. I would like to equate a team of an organisation to the human body which is run by the nature in continuity. The heart craves for something at the shops and tells the brain which agrees and thinks of the route to the shops. The eyes agree and look at road. The head agrees and starts to move forward, the legs agree and balances the head in a continuous repetition pattern of forward movement one after another. At this time, the hands have very little help in this as it supports slightly.  

There are other body parts which don’t have any part to play in this vision, e.g. the finger nail. But let itchiness strike the back of the head, the eye can’t help because it can’t see; the leg can’t really do anything. Interesting enough, the hand will transport the fingers, for the finger nails will come to the rescue. Without a rehearsal, the fingernail will not miss the spot and goes exactly where the itchiness is.

Some body parts are very uncomfortable being exposed outside for people to see but never at any stage does one think that they are less important. Some don’t want to be covered at all and they will make the whole body uncomfortable if they are covered. The eye for example will only blink to be covered for a split second. However there comes a time when it is completely shut for eight hours during the night. It never worries that the subconscious mind is taking over for that long therefore every body part is important whether covered or uncovered, whether used a lot or used less. It’s important for every part to work in harmony with all other parts.