Some ideas on Fixing Cricket

In our quest to rebuild West Indies cricket it is crucial that we consider the views and concerns of all who have an interest in seeing our sport regain its once healthy status.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) recently held a two-day meeting on Cricket Development Strategy in Antigua to secure the input of a diverse cross-section of the region's cricket family as we plan for the future.

Umpires, past and present cricketers, WICB executives, selectors, media and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) were all represented.

Suggestions

The gathering produced some "most useful suggestions and analysis", said Edward "Teddy" Griffith, the astute chairman of the session.

Griffith, who led WICB strategy meetings in 1992 and 1996, is now charged with the responsibility of turning the various recommendations into a report to be presented to the WICB.

After a brief introductory session, the 30-plus participants at the Antigua conference separated into four groups to deliberate the following topics: Cricket Development; Facilities, Equipment and Technology; Competitions and Stakeholder Relations.

On the following day, a spokesman for each group made a presentation to the gathering on the outcome of his group's discussions.

Following is a synopsis of the remarks by two of those representatives:

Michael Holding (Cricket Development):

"Cricket development is an all-encompassing topic but we concentrated on developing the cricketer, looking at the development of the individual.

"We concentrated on what we think the WICB needs to do to get the youngsters involved in the game again.

"We think that with youngsters now being attracted to different activities there are a few gaps in our cricket that need to be looked at, like the Under-17 cricketers.

"We need to find ways of ensuring they are attracted to cricket and that there are incentives for them to play the game.

"Cricket is a very expensive sport and we have to look at providing more financial incentives, not just for the players but also for the people who work with them.

"It's also important the WICB make sure their different members accept the programmes that the WICB wants to put in place so that when you go to different territories you see the same thing (being taught) throughout the entire Caribbean.

"If a child moves from one country to the next, we want to ensure he is exposed to a programme that is teaching him the same way he was learning before.

Implementation

"It's fine having a plan on paper but the implementation of it is very important.

"We need to see a programme like the one in the Windward Islands, throughout the entire Caribbean. It's a matter of duplicating that now."

Michael Findlay (Facilities, Equipment and Technology):

"In discussing our topic we had to ask certain questions:

What is the status of each ground and what do we need to do to improve it?

What are we aiming for? Are we aiming for the highest international standards?

Can we afford that?

Is it necessary to bring all our first-class grounds up to the international standard?

"We looked at Test and One-Day International venues in the Caribbean and we agreed there have been some improvements in them but not at other venues around the region.

"The main problem regards the maintenance of facilities for the public: unsuitable rest rooms, the need to upgrade seating and other such matters. We also found that facilities for umpires and the media are not adequate in many cases.

Very costly

"We feel that the pitches and outfield at our grounds need to be at the same standard and that the cricket facilities should be developed to meet the demands of the modern-day cricket game.

"This is a very costly venture and we will require the support of the governments and clubs who own these grounds.

"Cricket is more visible on television internationally which means that you have got to look at everything that's going to create a good image of West Indies cricket.

"We also looked at utilising new technology to develop our cricketers; to develop coaching methods; to develop our scoring with computers; computers as a means of learning the game; computers as a means of helping players identify and correct their weaknesses-all these are things we discussed.

"Cricket means too much to us in the Caribbean for all the stakeholders not to come together and do what we ought to do for cricket's development. We really have to work in partnership."

Next week we will present the edited statements of the presenters of the Competitions and Stakeholder Relations groups.