A bright future awaits West Indies

Former captain believes his team will record great moments in cricket again.Former West Indies captain Richie Richardson is regarded as one of the most explosive batsmen. It was a treat to watch him play his shots with immaculate timing and immense power. Today he is the manager of the West Indies team and the youngsters in the team look to him for inspiration.Richardson, who scored 5,949 runs in Tests with 16 centuries and 6,248 runs in one-dayers with six centuries, has been working hard to instil confidence in his youngsters. He spoke at length to Gulf News at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Global Cricket Academy where the West Indies team had come for a week-long High Performance camp en route to Bangladesh. After being part of a strong West Indies team how do you find the present team? Do you think it is shaping up for a better tomorrow?I am pleased with the way our team has been playing over the past few months. We drew a Test series against Pakistan and though India beat us we were very competitive against them. The fact that we won a few matches against India and Pakistan is a very positive sign. How tough is the road ahead and how hopeful are you over West Indies regaining its lost glory?We would have loved instant success but life is not like that always. You have to take your time and work hard and put things in place to achieve success. Now that we have seen progress within the team we have to be happy over it because it means that we are doing something right. I think coaches Desmond Haynes, Ottis Gibson and David Williams are all doing a wonderful job. We have a very good physiotherapist and trainer. They have been working hard with the boys and hence we are seeing the improvement. After your retirement Brian Lara carried the mantle of West Indies batting but isn't there a shortage of world class batsmen like you and Lara in West Indies now?I think it is just the way cricket is at the moment. There is a bit of a lull but I believe we will always produce great talented players once we get our cricket right. If we can have the right infrastructure and the right system in place we will see our team recording great moments in world cricket once again. After having watched the Indian team closely during their recent tour of West Indies, do you think that the criticism that their batsmen are suspect against genuine pace on hard bouncy wickets is true?First of all let me tell you that most of the wickets in the Caribbean are pretty flat. None of the wickets in the Caribbean during the India tour were quick and our bowlers got wickets because they bowled a good line and length and stuck to their tasks. We were able to restrict the Indians to under 300 runs except in one Test match and that is really remarkable.I don't like to comment whether Indians cannot play pace or not because becoming the No 1 team in the world itself is a remarkable achievement. I believe that you cannot become the No 1 team in the world if you are incapable of playing good pace and spin. You have to give a lot of credit to the hard work they have put in to win the World Cup and also the first Twenty20 World Cup. To go on and become the No 1 Test team is a remarkable achievement. You saw Rahul Dravid in top form during the West Indies series. What is the quality that you saw in him that made him very consistent?Dravid is an accomplished player, strong-willed and has got a very good technique. He backs himself all the time with his tremendous appetite for runs. He is someone who even if he gets out after a long innings still believes he ought to have been there all day. This is the sort of player any team must have in their team. You played for West Indies alongside many such players. How was it to play along with a bunch of great players? How much of a morale booster was it?Frankly, when I first got selected to play for West Indies and went out with the greats of the game I really wondered where I was really standing. I had to really convince myself that I have got selected to be among such great players. Having been selected to be among such players I knew I will have to really rise to the task and produce a performances that is required to maintain a place among such great players. For me it was tough because you were always under pressure to perform. Though the pressure was there it was a wonderful experience playing with great players like Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Vivian Richards, Jeff Dujon, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding. What do you think is the reason behind the rise of England to the top?One of the main reasons is that England has really invested in cricket in a positive way. They have a lot of academies around UK, very good coaching programmes and good coaches. A lot of players who played county cricket before they retire become qualified coaches. They have an excellent cricket system in England and it is paying off. What about the facilities at the ICC Global Cricket Academy?Ever since I heard about this centre I wanted to visit here. I am really impressed with the facilities. Our players will return as improved players. The facilities are top class and it is a great place for any team to come and prepare for a tour. So you believe that there is a good future for West Indies?Yes. The West Indies cricket board is making the effort. We have a high a performance centre.We are a small country and we do not have the financial resources like some other countries but West Indies cricket board is trying hard to resurrect cricket.As I said before, the talent will always be there and I believe that it is just a matter of time before we achieve big success.