Sampling the domestic scene

	The pavilion at the 3Ws Oval in Barbados © Andrew McGlashan

If the most drastic reports are to be believed the West Indian domestic structure is being held together by sticking plaster. Neither the one-day or four-day tournaments have sponsors after KFC and Carib Beer ended their deals, while the WICB have had to delve into their own reserves to keep the competitions going.

So I thought it would be a good idea to try and grab a brief experience of the domestic scene. As one or two people will testify, I have a passing interest in county cricket back home. So how do the two compare?

Given the tight tour schedule and the two extra days in Antigua it was fortunate that there was a four-day game going on in Barbados as I arrived in the country. The Combined Colleges and Campus side was taking on Leeward Islands at the 3W's Oval, the University of West Indies' ground on the Cave Hill campus, just north of Bridgetown.

As I turned up it was the end of the lunch interval and the umpires were making their way back out. There was a double-take moment, because one of them was Richard Kettleborough, the English umpire, who is here on an exchange programme to help local officials.

It was hard to judge the standard, but these two sides aren't the best examples. CCC, as their title would suggest, are no better than the university sides that pretend to play first-class cricket in England. Leeward Islands, once such a strong team, are now one of the weakest of the main sides.

The WICB have expanded their first-class structure this season, but it is hard to see what benefit there is having a team like CCC take part. If a few of the players were good enough, they would be in the main island team. A very telling factor is that the first-class bowling averages are dominated by spinners, some of whose figures have probably been flattered by the type of batting that helped Anthony Martin collect three scalps here.

Without sponsors there was a hotch-potch collection of kit among the players. Those who had played for West Indies, including Omari Banks and Lionel Baker, wore their Digicel branded tops, some wore their club kit and others had no branding at all. The manual scoreboard was operated by two hard-working people, but speed wasn't always of the essence. "Scoreboard, it's now 66 for 1," announced the PA system.

The crowd was virtually non-existent, although again it wasn't quite a fair comparison because this wasn't the main Barbados team. However, county cricket is criticised for a lack of attendance, but it remains the best supported domestic scene in the world.

The ground itself is an education (as it should be being a university) with enough names to make the best part of a West Indies all-time XI. Alongside the great trio that give the venue its name – Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell, and Clyde Walcott – the two ends are named Ramadhin/Valentine and Holding/Roberts. Throw in the George Headley room in the pavilion and there's enough to rival the ICC's Hall of Fame. And just to add to the scholarly feeling, across the road is the CLR James centre for cricket research.

The dozen or so people who were sat in the pavilion began a heated debate on West Indies' batting order with Devon Smith seemingly at the centre of the argument. Whenever a wicket fell they would also have plenty of advice for the batsman, bemoaning how the 'kids' have no patience these days. Occasionally a small batch of people would come in from elsewhere on campus, such as the martial arts training that was taking place behind the ground, and as has been noticeable here and in Antigua everybody knew everybody else.

Then, as tea approached, the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. So maybe it was just like county cricket, after all.

Read in App

Elevate your reading experience on ESPNcricinfo App.

Download App Now