Tony Becca

I HAVE often said that I will never live to see the day when the West Indies return to a position near to the top of world cricket much more the day when they are once again the best in the world.

Although I wish that would not be so, that it won't be long before they are back in business, with each passing day, it seems, more and more, that it will be so.

Every day something new, something bad, appears in West Indies cricket to suggest that only God can help West Indies cricket.

In recent times, for example, there was talk of all kinds of shady financial dealings inside the board. There was a coup against the president that led to the president and the vice president walking away, in two or three years, three CEOs were removed, there were quarrels between the board and its sponsors, and there were fights between the board and the Players Association which led to a few strikes by the players.

More recently, the board and its new sponsors have been at war, just a few days ago, the president was accused of financial impropriety and the results is that the Corporate Services manager has been fired and the CEO is in trouble and apparently also on his way out.

Resignation

And it does not end there. On top of that, the last West Indies captain, certainly based on the fact, after taking issue with the board over his non-selection as captain of the one-day team a year ago, after criticising the board for all kinds of things, and after criticising the selectors for ignoring him, tendered his resignation a few days ago.

According to reports, he is now reconsidering his position after talks with the president who, probably only in a bid to save the face of West Indies cricket, does not want the most recent of his captains to walk away or, to be more accurate, not to accept the position if he is offered it again.

Whether the most recent captain is good or not, and the jury is still out on that, that, with everything else that is happening in West Indies cricket, would be embarrassing to the selectors, to the board and to West Indies cricket.

Something is wrong with West Indies cricket, there is no doubt about that. The question is this: Is it that the wrong people, people who are selfish and greedy, people who are money-hungry and power-hungry, people who are not interested in the game and the fortunes of West Indies cricket but in their own well-being, people who will stop at nothing in fulfilling their own agenda, are now involved in West Indies cricket?

With the drop of interest in the game, with the decline, not only in the quantity but also in the quality, in membership of the clubs around the region, that would not be surprising. In fact, that is exactly what should be expected.

Enemy number one

Based on what happened to a former president and vice president, to Pat Rousseau and Clarvis Joseph, although he had no right, morally, renting an office from a company of which he is a part, based on what president Julian Hunte was up against these past few weeks, it appears that once something is being done to protect West Indies cricket, once the president steps on a few corns in an attempt to protect West Indies cricket, he becomes enemy number one of other members of the board.

In West Indies society, in a society where, most times, "empty" can makes the most noise, where it is so easy for people, regardless of who they may be, to "gang up" on others, regardless of who they may be, and one in which so many people vote on promises, on what they are promised in return for their support, it is easy, very easy, to get rid of him.

Unfortunately, however, and as detrimental as those things are, they are not the only problem with West Indies cricket.

Among the problems facing West Indies cricket, the biggest problems facing West Indies cricket are the lack of marketing and the lack of skill with the bat, with the ball, in the field, and certainly when it comes to captaincy, and to the majority of those involved in coaching, the knowledge of the game.

When it comes to the skills of the game, West Indian players, the majority of them, regardless of their talent, are lacking. That is what needs to be developed, it has to be developed by those who know how to develop skills and it has to be developed gradually, from the schools, through the clubs and through a good, strong and solid first-class tournament.

Conference of stakeholders

The board, it has been reported, plans to hold a conference of stakeholders in October to discuss its strategic plan for the next four years. If ever anything was a waste of time, and especially so after the report of the Governance Committee on West Indies cricket, the committee chaired by P. J. Patterson and included Sir Alister McIntyre and Dr. Ian McDonald, that is one.

Over the past 10 or 12 years the board has had three such gatherings in places like St Lucia and Antigua, great players past and present, coaches, umpires, administrators and members of the media were invited, everyone spoke glowingly about this and about that, promises were made to implement a number of the suggested solutions and nothing has ever come of them.

The suggestions from the meetings were supposed to be tabled at the next board meeting, but no one has heard anything about them since.

West Indies cricket, poor West Indies cricket, does not need and cannot afford another expensive gathering to discuss the way forward as far as performance on the field is concerned.

What West Indies cricket needs in order for its batsmen to score more runs, for its bowlers to take more wickets, for its fielders to be better - much better, and for it to produce good captains, good leaders, is support, including financial support, for cricket in the schools and in the clubs, some good coaches at all levels, and a marketing strategy that will revive interest in the game at all levels.

Satisfied wishes

The word is out that the West Indies board is thinking about playing the entire limited-over tournament in the United States in an effort to satisfy the wishes of its new sponsors. Regardless of the support it believes it will get at the gates, regardless of all the money it believes will come in from doing so, even if the US were willing to provide visas for all the players from all the territories, it would be well advised not to even think about it.

A match or two in the US would not be bad for the game, and if the board can guarantee US visas for the players, nothing would be wrong with that.

West Indies cricket, however, belongs to the people of the West Indies and if only so that the people of the West Indies can see their players in action, if only so that the young boys and girls can watch the game and maintain an interest in the game.

Unless the idea is to look to the US for future West Indies cricketers, for future West Indies captains, West Indies cricket should be played in the West Indies - money or no money.