Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
TWO WEDNESDAYS ago, the award ceremony for the GraceKennedy schoolboy cricket competitions was held at the group headquarters at Harbour Street and, based on the outstanding performances for which awards were presented, cricket, in Jamaica and West Indies, is in good hands.
In an exercise that lasted for almost two hours, the cheers rang around the room as dozens of schoolboys representing urban and rural schools collected their awards.
None, however, were as deafening as those which greeted Ziggy Levy of Holmwood and Derron Campbell of Maud McLeod as they walked up to collect their awards - Levy for scoring five centuries during the season and Campbell for taking seven wickets in an innings without conceding a single run.
The biggest applause of the afternoon, however, was reserved for Don Wehby, chief financial officer at GraceKennedy Limited, and based on the present state of West Indies cricket, based on the importance of the topic, deservedly so.
CRICKET AND BUSINESS
Sandwiched between Douglas Orane, GraceKennedy's chair-man and chief executive officer, who, in talking about the importance of a good education and the need to be balanced, encouraged the boys to be students as well as athletes, and Dr. Christine Cummings, the cricket-loving university lecturer who lamented the absence of form matches and house matches in schools and who spoke about the development of young players and the many oppor-tunities available to those who take both their cricket and their school work seriously, Wehby talked about West Indies cricket and business - the things which, according to him, are the two loves of his life.
According to Wehby, cricket today is not a game but a business and it should be treated as such.
"Although you have to have money to develop any sport, I do not necessarily mean making money. I am talking about the approach, the planning and the attitude of an entity," said Wehby, who went on to say that things need to happen quickly, and very quickly at that.
"We must begin, and begin now, to have a clear vision of West Indies cricket, of where we want West Indies cricket to be, say in 2010 and we must state that vision publicly.
"We need to have a strategic plan for West Indies cricket, not only at the West Indies board level, but at every regional board throughout the Caribbean; and that strategic plan should be discussed with the private sector in every Caribbean island and endorsed by every government in the Caribbean.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
"When you establish a strategic plan you need to look at your strengths and how, for example, you produced your great fast bowlers. You must never ever take your strengths for granted.
"And the same goes for your weaknesses. You must look at what is your weakness and if it is, as it is in the West Indies case, spin bowling, then you must say to yourself, 'I do not have any spin bowlers', and then ask yourselves, 'how am I going to produce spin bowlers'".
According to Wehby, the successful businessman who reminded the gathering that those who fail to plan also plan to fail, you also need to look at your opposition, you need to look at your threats, you need to look at marketing, you need to look at financing and, most importantly, you need to look at how you are administering the game.
"What I am advocating," he said, "is that the business of cricket must be approached like any other business. That's the only way we will achieve the level of success that our talent suggests and if our target is 2010, then we must make a start. In fact, we must start now - right now."
