Take Pride in Your Performance: Legendary Former Cricketers Insist Winning and Not Money Should Be the Motivating Factor For Young Players

Source: Antigua Observer
Take pride in your performance on the field of play no matter how much money you make. This was the advice of three former legendary West Indies cricketers as they highlighted drive and motivation as major factors in their success and the success of the team during an era when players were, at times, making EC $1500 per tour with the senior men’s team.

Michael Holding, widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers in cricket history, was nicknamed “Whispering Death” due to his undramatic but effective bowling style. Having claimed 249 wickets in just 60 Test matches and another 142 in 102 One Day Internationals, the Jamaican-born fast bowler said that for him, it was about getting the team over the finish line.

“People would know that I got 249 Test wickets and everybody would come to me asking; why you stop at 249? What’s the difference between 249 and 250 and what does that mean? That doesn’t help anybody, and if I was going to win another Test match with that one wicket, then fine; but that one wicket wasn’t going to get me to win another Test match. The important thing was and continues to be West Indies team and what we can do to win and to help West Indies team and West Indies cricket; not so much the individual because the individual glory comes along,” he said.

Although making his debut some 14 months after Holding would have left the scene, the iconic Sir Curtly Ambrose shares his predecessor’s thoughts, adding that while there is nothing wrong with wanting a big payday, it should not outweigh your pride and drive to effectively represent your country.

“I don’t mind guys making money now but if it’s all about the money and they don’t care about the performances then I have a problem with that. I believe you must take pride in your performances and representing your country so if it’s all about the money and you don’t give a damn about the results then I have a problem with that,” the former player said.

Sir Curtly claimed 405 wickets in 98 Tests while picking up 225 in 176 ODIs.

Meanwhile, legendary batsman and successful former captain, Sir Vivian Richards, said he was fortunate to have led one of the most talented cricket teams ever assembled in the history of the game.

“At any particular time, when the team was down, any of them could have brought it back. What I think we should all think about is the fact that it was such a team effort, everyone made a contribution and when you have that it’s good. Sometimes you look at individuals and expect that this one is supposed to be doing more and whatever but this [work] was shared around which was so important to the team and this is what I think it was all about,” the Antiguan said.

Sir Viv made his Test debut in 1974 against India along with Gordon Greenidge. He scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 and retired as the West Indies leading run-scorer, overhauling the aggregate of Garfield Sobers. As a captain, he won 27 of 50 Test matches and lost only 8. He also scored nearly 7,000 runs in One Day Internationals and more than 36,000 in first-class cricket.