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Zimbabwe Test captain Sean Williams has reportedly decided he wants to step away from international cricket after the current tours of Ireland and Scotland.
The bombshell stated is making the rounds after the player landed in Ireland on Wednesday, six days after the rest of the team. He had requested a mental health break.
According to an excerpt of an interview with Star FM which is to be aired Thursday evening, he said the coach Lalchand Rajput did not give him confidence.
“I can’t see a way forward under coach Rajput. The environment he has created in the team is bad. There is too much talking and backbiting which creates mistrust,” said Williams, shared by @Mr_Tich.
Interestingly, it is under Rajput that Williams, along with Regis Chakabva, has experienced the greatest improvement. Williams has grown more confident and scored a bulk of his centuries under the Indian minder. It is also under the same coach that he has been a lot more tempered and his off-field issues lessened.
The coach’s numbers do not make for great reading, with only four ODI victories since he came in. There will be mitigation by some that he has had to contend with ICC suspensions, Covid-19 lockdowns, meaning he has not been able to go on a full run. That said, cricket is a results-based game and given that Rajput has, we assume, had his contract which was due to expire earlier this year extended by the board, there is confidence in his vision.
So, it is a bit odd for Williams to wade into this arena. It is odd but not surprising given he also had issues with previous coaches, Makhaya Ntini, Dav Whatmore and Steve Mangongo. He even thought of retiring from international cricket because of personal issues with the latter.
But he says he is not stepping down out of his own accord, stating, “I am in a position now where I can go. I am not scared and I will not back down from anyone. My major concern is the future of rest the players.”
We have no doubt that Williams carries great concern for the team. He has said as much in numerous press engagements, speaking about how he needed to assist and help the next generation of players. That he assumes a messianic attitude to their welfare is fascinating and can only be tested when said players see their futures as being of concern.
Williams reserves some criticism for Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) as an organisation, saying, “If they (ZC) don’t do something now, guys like Wessly [Madhevere] may go too. and that guy is a national treasure.”
This one is interesting because it assumes inaction from Zimbabwe Cricket. The Board meeting recently came to the resolution that senior players needed to improve their performance and that a turnaround in results was urgent. Since then meetings have been held with the senior players as groups to resolve this.
Williams himself was in what many would consider the safe zone, and as confidence shows remains the only substantive captain of any format.
At 35 however, his bargaining chips are pretty low. Should he take a break, would Zimbabwe simply let him back in or look to a younger alternative to blood in.
But there are three bigger issues .
First and foremost, given the quotes that have made the media, Williams’s place in the current squad becomes problematic. In May 2002, when then Ireland football captain Roy Keane was involved in a public quarrel with coach Mick McCarthy, he was sent home from the Fifa World Cup. In this instance, if he has undermined Rajput, do the players who believe in the coach start thinking Williams might be out to sabotage the coach with his performances?
By extension, if some of the senior players have been performing poorly over the last couple of months, is it because of poor coaching or their trying to get the coach fired? As fans, their commitment comes into question, which is not ideal.
Secondly, for ZC, do they have a contingency plan for this on two fronts? Were they aware of his being disgruntled or is it surprise for them? The fact that just this Tuesday, they were touting him as the substantive captain for Tests, implies he caught them unawares, at least in his actions. Also, given that guys like Williams are now 35, their retirement being close, for whatever reason, is there a plan for replacements in motion or will they be caught pants down like when Hamilton Masakadza retired?
Losing Williams is seismic stuff, make no bones about it and whatever it is, should not have ended up here.
Finally, the biggest question is what good it could have served for Williams to have thrown the camp into disarray on the eve of a crucial series. If he indeed is doing it for the players, why create a huge distraction on the eve of a series that is a path to the World Cup? Players like Elton Chigumbura and Kyle Jarvis retired with grace, without taking a big proverbial dump on the team. What is the end game here?
Perhaps after listening to his full interview, we might have answers.
And the action of ZC after this, will lend more.
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