January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Countdown to Namibia
What should be done about O’Brien?
Well-known cricket umpire and football referee George O’Brien Sr. claimed last week that his son George Jr. is paying a far heavier price for a flare up that he and Stephen Outerbridge were involved in during the annual Cup Match classic.
Although both were overlooked for ICC InterContinental Cup selection, the Board recently announced that Outerbridge was one of three promising young cricketers chosen to go to an eleven week training camp in South Africa while it appears that O’Brien is being left out in the cold.
Hall of Fame sportsman Calvin ‘Bummy’ Symonds claimed that O'Brien was being made a scapegoat and felt the matter needed to be looked into further.
The issue of discipline as it relates to young cricketers is nothing new.
In March 1998 prior to becoming Australian captain Ricky Ponting was thrown out of a Calcutta discotheque, 10 months later he was punched unconscious at a bar in Sydney’s Kings Cross.
He subsequently admitted to a problem with alcohol and was handed a suspended three-month ban by the ACB.
Shane Warne, one of the finest leg-spinners of all time ran into trouble at the Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide and at one point was suspended from action for ‘inappropriate behaviour’.
Even the master blaster himself, Sir Vivian Richards was banned by Antigua for disputing an umpire’s decision an action that almost resulted in a riot in his first match for the island at age 17.
What is important here are that in all three cases the Administrators did not discard the young men but worked with them to save what turned out to be long and distinguished cricket careers.
The question that faces the men at 40 Cedar Avenue is not only how, but when to deal with the O'Brien case.
His case has been simmering for some time now, which must be frustrating to not only him, but Bermuda cricket supporters as well.
The sooner the Board deals with this matter the better! It is patently wrong to leave the player in limbo.
Questions arising out of the umpire’s report are irrelevant as both Stephen and George by publicly apologizing admitted their guilt.
Whether their clubs have taken action against them is also irrelevant because the Board as the governing body of cricket in this island has the power to punish them.
While Stephen’s action can be viewed as an aberration I don’t believe the same can be said of George as he has a history of disciplinary problems.
However, despite this, it would be wrong for the BCB not to try and work with him.
If it is determined that he has a problem controlling his temper then he should be provided with counselling to resolve that.
I also cannot see the harm in allowing him to train with the national squad on their return from Namibia and placed on some sort of probation till the end of the year, where his attitude and attendance at training as well as his overall deportment off the field of play are monitored and assessed.
If at the end of this probation period he satisfies the cricket board’s requirements, then he should be considered for the national squad.[[In-content Ad]]
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