UPDATE: After thinking this one over, I had a change of heart because of the fact that Samuels did not intend for his letter to be leaked to the public. So it is apparent that he was not seeking attention for his perceived problem, but was writing to the authorities to seek redress over a perceived wrong - a right that he is entitled to. My advice to him in the final paragraph still stands though. The original piece follows below.
West Indies middle order batsman, Marlon Samuels has written to team manager, Mike Findlay, and WICB President Ken Gordon, claiming that he has been discriminated against by current West Indies coach Aussie David Moore and his predecessor Bennett King.
Samuels claims that he was discriminated against because he was not given an opportunity to bat until all the other players including bowlers, had batted. By then the net bowlers were tired and not able to bowl properly to Samuels. Marlon has also claimed that he experienced the same thing in Malaysia and India under previous coach King.
Now it certainly seems odd that Samuels would bat last, behind the bowlers, given that he is a recognised middle order batsman. And if this has been happening more than once, I too would feel like Marlon that something was amiss. But my words of advice to Samuels have nothing to do with whether he is being discriminated against or not, but rather as to how he is being perceived. The press, particularly in the Caribbean, often make references to indiscipline when they speak of Samuels. Samuels was apparently almost sent home from India in 2002 and the label of "indiscipline" has relentless stuck with him since. This perception has been built up to the point that it is generally accepted that he is an indisciplined player and yet people have a hard time pointing to specific incidents. Certainly Samuels' attitude to his batting continues to need improvement, but we haven't received recent news reports of specific incidents about his supposed "indiscipline". Samuels' writing to the WICB about his real or not, discrimination will only fuel the flames of those who would want to see the end of Samuels.
Now that he has written to complain about discrimination, Samuels almost certainly will not get an opportunity to play in this series. I certainly doubt that he will get any recourse from Gordon.
My contention with Samuels is that instead of griping about his situation, he should have tried to force his way into the team. Truth be told, his career has been a middling one at best, despite his talent. He should focus on his batting, stay in the nets extra after practice if he is not getting enough regular practice, and force his way into the team by scoring heavily when he gets an opportunity to play in tour matches. Bennett King was a waste of a lot of money and is now gone. Undoubtedly Moore will soon follow suit. Marlon, keep plugging away, get some runs and then regardless of whether people are discriminating against you, they will have to play you because then you would have earned playing time.
- 622 reads
Post new comment