Sobers comes in from the cold

Coming as it does 50 years after his Test debut, and 30 since his retirement from Test cricket, it is valid to ask if the appointment of Sir Garry Sobers as the technical consultant to West Indies' new head coach, Bennett King, has come too late.

As Sobers prepares to pick up the new position two years short of his 70th birthday, the lament is that the game's most gifted player had never before been given the opportunity to share his invaluable insights and experience in a such a structured manner.

It remains one of the most inexplicable acts of neglect and omission committed by the West Indies Cricket Board that Sobers's obviously invaluable input has never before been officially utilised. Nearly 30 years ago Clyde Walcott, then the chairman of the selectors, asked him to take a fitness test before he could work for West Indies cricket, which Sobers saw as an attempt to keep him out and retreated. Walcott went on to become head of the WICB, then the ICC, and the distance between them hardened. It was only when Wes Hall became president of the board that any attempt was made to retrieve Sir Garry.

The past cannot be re-trodden, and it now remains to be seen what Sobers will be allowed to do in his new role. There is no doubt that he has much to contribute, not only in technical aspects of the game, but because he seems to be able to find easy rapport with the young players - a much more difficult task than it ought to be, given the reports from others who have interacted with them.

Following the announcement of his post, it was reported that Sobers had spoken to King and was quoted as saying that: "He seems to know what it's all about and has ideas of how to start moving in the right direction." This endorsement was criticised by those who saw it as an about-face from the position he'd stated in September that, in principle, he was against the appointment of an overseas coach, especially one with such a free hand.

One simplistic suggestion was that money talked louder than his principles. The truth is that Sir Garry has never received compensation commensurate with his contribution to world cricket. Sure, he has enough trophies, plaques and awards to fill a mansion, but nothing that even compares with a moderately successful professional cricketer of today, far less a Brian Lara. If he has taken a job, then he is certain to do it, once he is given the chance.

What remains dubious is how much latitude Sir Garry will have to execute his ideas.

Since 1992, several former players have been appointed to similar positions (Rohan Kanhai, Andy Roberts, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards, Roger Harper and Gus Logie), but it is clear that each of them was fettered by the WICB's policies. It is unfair to the records of these gentlemen that the first time a coach from outside the West Indies is appointed, his terms offer much more autonomy than they were ever permitted. It also places the incoming coach in an awkward position, because he will be expected to perform miracles to survive.

Sobers has obviously chosen to work with the coach, and he too must have mused on the past before coming to this decision. King has been given a three-year contract, but Sobers's tenure has not been made clear. The WICB's chief executive, Roger Brathwaite, has said he will be working with specific individuals identified by King, and that he will assist with coaching and technical strategies in collaboration with the coach. The key there being the collaborative nature of the relationship, which was perhaps central to his acceptance.

Sobers has never cloaked his disdain for the insistence on purely "qualified" coaches. What can be read into that is that he believes there are certain qualities which may not be certifiable, but which are vital to the character of a successful coach. If he has been persuaded that King has those qualities (and it bodes well for them that both men see value in the continued captaincy of Brian Lara), then it suggests a great deal about the character of Sir Garry that he has chosen to bring his imperial presence to the West Indies table, where it is still so desperately needed.