New ball for cricket

Government says it will not rest until Barbados' cricket has been restored to the pinnacle of West Indies cricket.

And in an effort to speed up the process, Prime Minister Owen Arthur has accepted a Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) development plan, which sets out a programme designed to make Barbados' cricket strong again.

A task force of Government and BCA officials has been constituted so that a plan of action can be implemented at the earliest opportunity.

The disclosure was made by Arthur in an address during a celebration dinner to honour former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler, Charlie Griffith, at the Sherbourne Conference Centre on Saturday night.

It [the plan] has nothing to do with the development of the stands at Kensington Oval although that is important too but it has to do with a programme to put back Barbados' cricket at the pinnacle of West Indies cricket, where it properly belongs, Arthur said.

The psyche of every Barbadian has been badly bruised by every horrible descent of our cricket. As a nation we have been reduced and we shall not rest until the fortunes of our cricket have been restored.

The plan, which was presented to Government last week by BCA president Stephen Alleyne, identified nine development priorities which would facilitate the articulation of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-specific goals against which the implementation of the plan can be evaluated and controlled.