West Indies Testing Cricket Software

Kingstown, St. Vincent - In keeping with their promise to become self-sufficient in data analysis, the West Indies are now in possession of three lap-top computers. And The Management team is in the process of choosing the most suitable software in an effort to be on an even keel with opponents who have long been taking advantage of the latest technology. West Indies manger Ricky Skerritt revealed that the computers were received on Monday and three options were being considered before putting a firm system in place. Among them is one which former team manager David Holford used when he held Skerritt's job in the mid-1990s. Holford was in Jamaica during the West Indies' first two One-Day Internationals of the current triangular series to give a demonstration of the capabilities of his software. 'We like David's system, but it is one that he designed several years ago and it needs some upgrading,' Skerritt said. 'He has agreed, with the help of the West Indies Cricket Board and the help of a software development company, to modernise that software.' The process is going to take place over the next three weeks, but in the meantime, Skerritt and the rest of The Management team also hope to get a look at other systems developed in Australia and South Africa. 'We will compare them with David's system and there is a strong possibility that by the end of this tour, we will be using one of those systems.' In the interim, the team is benefiting from a manual set-up which is being done by Jamaican scorer Garfield Smith as well as video supplied by television producers Trans World International (TWI). Smith was in Antigua for Pakistan's two practice matches last weekend and provided the West Indies with information which the coaching staff is analysing. 'Garfield's manual system, based on the Darnley Boxill system, has been very useful to us and we are going to complement this with a video analysis system,' Skerritt said. 'We have been talking to TWI and they are prepared to give us almost anything we want.' Skerritt said it was very difficult to put all these things in place in the middle of a tour, but was confident all systems would be in place for the summer tour by England.