In the near future cricketers in Barbados will be added to the local
association's monthly payroll - for the first time in history. At
least 15 cricketers will be paid monthly salaries, as the Barbados
Cricket Association's (BCA) objective is to inculcate players of
promise with technical, tactical and life skills to excel at the
international level and to be a credit to the nation.
The new initiative was among many revealed recently at the launching
of the BCA's four-year development plan as the authorities aim to make
local cricket strong again.
The BCA intends to develop a year-round retainer programme in which
the selected group of players, named Team Barbados, can benefit in all
facets of the game and ultimately prosper when called on for higher
duty in world cricket.
The plan seeks to expose the players to coaching at basic and senior
levels in order to pass on their skills to promising younger players.
Additionally, it proposes to provide the chosen players with robust
competition through one tour a year.
"We know the time is right to invest heavily in our cricketers," said
David Holford, chairman of the BCA's cricket committee. "We are now
asking a lot of the players; to have to go to work, then come and give
of their best in the middle by playing cricket on a consistent basis.
"So by having these retainer contracts, we want them to spend all year
round thinking about the game through all the aspects it (cricket) has
to offer," he told NATIONSPORT.
Holford said the players could be chosen from as early as next season,
but naturally, like most of the ambitious programmes of the BCA, the
project depended heavily on funding.
"We are hoping that both the Government and private sector can assist
financially. Plus, we are looking for help from the Leeward Islands
Lottery Holding Co. when they start operation here.
"So, if all these `players' come into place, we will be looking to
start Team Barbados from as early as next year."
Holford stressed that the initiative was one of the most crucial in
the development plan because "it's unreasonable to expect amateurs to
compete against professionals and do well".
The selected players will undergo medical tests, fitness tests and
drug-testing within the first months of the programme and are expected
to benefit from the use of a full-time coach, while they are exposed
to the latest in technology through video services.