From a lifelong fan

THE EDITOR: One of the most interesting aspects of West Indian cricket is its fan base, from Berbice to Negril everyone always has an opinion on the performances of the regional side. These opinions are as varied as the cosmopolitan array of people who make up the West Indian population. From the informed to the uniformed, the ludicrous to the sublime, the scathing to the inspiring, these opinions are what make us realise what an impact this game has on us, the people of the Caribbean. Being a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and a member of Management of the Queen’s Park Oval both for the past three years, as well as a lifelong fan and student of this beautiful game, I would like to think my opinion is one that is informed, yet I realise it is just another opinion.

What stood out most on the just concluded tour of South Africa was the difference in the level of preparedness of the two sides, the overall professional approach to the game. I do not think if measured in talent alone, we are not as far behind the Proteas as the lobsided results suggest. Granted our bowling looked ordinary most times, however man for man we were not lacking in talent. The difference was clearly the professional preparation of the two sides. From the mental aspect, the physical aspect (look at the number of injuries we sustained, there is more to this than just bad luck), the overall strategies of play, we were miles behind, coupled with some dubious umpiring decisions, a certain element of bad luck (look at the number of critical tosses that Lara lost) and we were destined to be on the wrong side of the win/loss column. The lob sided final result is not the fault of the  players alone, they must shoulder some of the blame, yet the majority of the blame must lie with the authorities that be, the WICB and the regional cricket boards. With all things considered I was very proud of the effort of our team on this tour, they simply came up against a much better prepared side. I was especially proud of our captain Brian Lara, but we will get to that later.

The professional preparedness of our players was exposed on this tour due to the number of injuries that occurred. Not simply from the fact so many players got injured and came home, but more so from the replacement players that were sent out to Africa. Were these players really ready to go out and join the team? I can assure you no one knows the answer. Brian Lara called for professional contracts for West Indian players, this is critical as was started by the Australian cricket board. They contract 25 players every year, not only the bonafide starters on the Test and One day sides but also players on the brink of selection. Thus in the event of injury or loss of form, they know exactly what is going on with the players they call up. Obviously this requires financial resources, although the WICB are not as well off as some of the other cricket boards, they are certainly not struggling for funds. They can thank the legacy of the great West Indian teams gone by for this, because despite losing badly for the past eight years, West Indian cricket still remains a desired marketable product of world cricket. Brian Lara’s draw surely has a “small” part to play in this, however if things do not improve, just as Brian will retire one day, the attractiveness and demand for the West Indian cricket product will certainly wane.

Cricket at the international level was once an amateur sport played only for pride and glory. However, since the intervention by Kerry Packer in the late seventies this has been forever changed, cricket is now a fully professional sport. The invincibility of the glory years of West Indian cricket has come back to haunt us. When other teams smarting from years of “cut arse” completely revamped the overall structure of their games, from top to bottom, we rested on our laurels, assuming this would never happen. Well it has, and now on the world Test seeding chart, we lie above Zimbabwe (barely) and Bangladesh, everyone else has left us in the dust. It is time for the WICB to change their approach in the development of potential future West Indian players. Although they have done quite a bit in the last few years, they obviously need to do a lot more. The WICB needs to be involved from identification of talent at the school level until they step all the way up to the senior team. To ensure proper preparation and development of future West Indies players, certain things must be in place, and if any parts of this process are missing or inappropriate, the entire process of development will fail.

Proper professional development goes against the normal culture of accepted West Indian lifestyle. To properly develop these youngsters the following is required — physical facilities for practice and development; proper well trained coaches and tutors, as well as support and inspiration from mentors, especially past players; a proper education; as well as financial backing, to allow sole concentration on harnessing the maximum potential out of one’s God given natural talent. The abundance of natural talent in the region is almost unbelievable, for instance, look at Dwayne Bravo, a potential Jacques Kallis in the making.

If this youngster was thrown into the Australian or South African development programme, he would certainly have already been on the senior team; if not just on the doorstep. What a talent he is. Look at Ravi Rampaul, why was he not playing in the third of fourth test — he should have been but he was not ready. He is a potential Shaun Pollock. For Omari Banks, Jerome Taylor, Carlton Baugh Jr, Tishan Maharaj, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Smith, the future looks bright, but it could have been brighter with a stronger developmental programme in place. The WICB and the regional boards need to get their act together and this straight, petty insularity must be overcome if West Indian cricket is ever to be a force to reckon with on the world stage. There have been many suggestions as how to fix West Indies cricket, one common factor can be contrived from all these valid suggestions and that is a complete professional overhaul of the game in the region. Cricket is now a professional sport, not just a game.

One other thing bothers me about us West Indian people — we take every opportunity to bring or cut down our own people.
I know constructive criticism is essential for personal growth, however this does not always have to come in the form of complete negative and derogatory remark. Tony Cozier is by far the most famous and respected cricket commentator and expert from this region. He has been around West Indian cricket longer than he would care to say, he was there for the heady glory days, and one can understand that he can hardly bear to see what is currently going on. However the constant barrage of complete negative criticism has not worked for the past eight years. I am aware he is only telling it as it is, but this constant negativeness must work on the minds of youngsters aspiring to fill the shoes of legends gone by. All reporters from the region should perhaps focus their criticism on the authorities that be, and give the players a break, there are only the products of an inept system.

This leads me to my final point, what a transformation we have seen in the mature approach adopted by our captain, Brian Lara. Although he made a number of tactical errors on the field, his overall leadership on this tour was magnificent. I have not heard a statement from any of his all to many critics, at least acknowledging his efforts at correcting his once deserved less than positive image (Mr Becca?). What is even more astonishing, is that despite his responsibility, in a era where world batsmanship is enjoying a renaissance, its greatest period in modern times, he has maintained his status as the #1 batsman in the world, truly a remarkable feat! Well done Brian. We the people of the Caribbean, particularly the people in Trinidad, must appreciate having Brian Lara to savour. All too often we do not show our appreciation until someone has moved on. Brian Lara is for real, he is simply the best, certainly the best that Trinidad has ever produced, let’s give him our full support as we get ready to conquer England. Good luck to Brian and the new West Indian brigade, let’s hope we build on the lessons learnt in Africa.

Dr Nigel Camacho
Co-founder
Trini Posse