Murray after Cricket Board post again

And former West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Deryck Murray has promised to chart the course.

Murray said yesterday he is willing to stand at the helm of local cricket but Trinidad and Tobago must realise the need for that change and vent their disgust with the present state of affairs.

It was a small group consisting Secondary Schools Cricket League president Forbes Persaud, cricket representative Dr Allen Sammy and Murray who revealed themselves and their intent to the media.

Sammy told the gathering that part of their programme for the development of cricket is a proposal for Murray to be president of the Cricket Board.

Sammy said Murray has been instrumental in the setting up of the cricket academy although he was in the United Kingdom completing his studies at a university.

"It was Murray who sent down all the cricketing equipment from England, to ensure that the academy was properly set up," Sammy said.

The chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation added that he was confident of their slate of candidates for the upcoming cricket Board elections, although it could not been confirmed.

He pointed out that they were already getting favourable responses from members of cricket clubs, and have already secured the bloc votes of the Secondary Schools Cricket League as well as the two votes in sister isle Tobago among others.

Murray, who has played 62 Tests for the West Indies, pointed out that cricket in the region has reached an all-time low and was in desperate need of change.

He added, there is a cry coming from the public for proper development of the sport in Trinidad and Tobago.

He noted that because of this there has been major changes regionally and worldwide, for instance he said there has been a change in the Barbados Cricket Board where 600 people voted recently.

Murray said that in Trinidad and Tobago cricket, only 45 people are allowed to vote. He said change must be allowed to filter through the entire region including the West Indies Cricket Board.

Sammy labelled as "rubbish" a recent analysis by an Australian Sports Commission which concluded that cricket was the best organised sport in the region.

Only Saturday, Alloy Lequay, the Chief Executive Officer of the TT Cricket Board said organisation had to be doing something right to be labelled the best organised in the country. Ironically, it came on the heels of the Under-19 lads copping the regional Under-19 championships (both the limited overs and the three-day matches) which assured this country four titles out of the five at stake by the West Indies Cricket Board.

Murray yesterday questioned why the senior TT cricketers cannot win the regional title since 1985. He also asked what happens when young cricket teams return from tournaments, if they are abandoned.

He also questioned what was being done to assist the sport in the East-West corridor and in the West. He claimed that his administration has already put together effective programmes to take the sport to another level, but said it will take a while.

The programmes he said will include all stake-holders including cricketers, umpires, curators and spectators, among others. Murray said that attempts must be made to reach the mass of the population through centralised marketing programmes.