A welcome change

For the vast majority of the past 40 years, regional cricket has been blessed with a sponsor for the annual first-class competition. Yet, with the exception of two seasons, it was limited to an unsatisfactory handful of matches. Now that there is no sponsor, we have the reverse.

The 2009 first-class competition, which bowls off on Friday, will feature "return" matches, will run for 14 successive weekends and will allow teams 12 matches in the season, the most in regional history.

It is a welcome change. Every cricket expert - and there are thousands of them in the Caribbean - has long lamented that the short season is a major reason for the West Indies' unacceptable performances at the international level.

Yet those in charge hardly did anything to change it, with the expectation of the 1997 and 2005 seasons. For much of the past 15 years the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has been soundly criticised for its inefficiencies - with some justification in many cases.

Today, however, we can salute the regional body for an initiative that is long overdue. The WICB could have simply used the excuse that with no sponsor on board, it could not afford at this time to undertake expenditure for a tournament that is likely to cost them more than US$2 million. Instead, the WICB will use its "own cricket development funds" to finance the tournament. Would it be logical to assume that some of the US$50 million profit from World Cup 2007 is being put to good use?

Having also recently lost out on sponsorship of its limited-overs tournament and bearing in mind the current global economic crisis, the WICB will face a long-term challenge in ensuring its competitions are adequately funded. With the first-class season requiring 14 weekends to complete, the WICB has taken the unprecedented step of running the regional season alongside the international engagements, largely due to time constraints.

The debate, however, still remains on the pros and cons of this move. The major benefit is that players outside the West Indies team will be kept active with a serious level of competition and would not be rusty if they were required for higher duties.

The downside of it is that the regional competition could be put in the background. When Kensington Oval will be hosting the third Test between West Indies and England from February 26 to March 2, Barbados will be playing Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park.

It is a distinct possibility the latter match will get little or no radio coverage and less than usual newspaper column inches. Could it be one of the reasons why a sponsor would not be attracted to the regional competition? After all, any sponsor wants maximum mileage from its investment and the current schedule would not have been beneficial to sponsors.

Some observers often argue that the English county season doesn't stop when England are playing Test matches at home, but it can be countered by saying that we in the Caribbean have a different culture. Traditionally, when international cricket is on in the West Indies, everything else takes a back seat.

To have first-class cricket on at the same time is virtually reducing those matches to club games, although it must be pointed out that authorities have tried to diminish the effect by not scheduling regional matches in territories that will be hosting international matches at the time.

While the WICB must be praised for going ahead with the extended season, it deserves some criticism for the late availability of fixtures. The itinerary for the 2009 competition was released on Wednesday, a mere ten days before the start of the season. For the recent regional limited-overs competition in Guyana, which started on November 13, the fixtures were made public on November 1.

This has now become the norm and it often presents challenges to local associations in planning their domestic engagements. It also puts fans in the dark. In stark contrast, the England and Wales Cricket Board already has on its website itineraries for all of its 2009 competitions between April 9 and September 27.