EDITORIAL - Find solutions for our cricket

WITH the West Indies cricket team having lost badly in New Zealand during their tour to that country, it seems that the poor display has angered fans both in Barbados and across the region. And with our Under-19 team having failed to get beyond the first round of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, that became another blow for the Caribbean, especially given the
West Indies were defending the Under-19 title.

In the case of the senior team which went to New Zealand, the public has been very annoyed about the results there. People want to see major changes to the make-up of the side, and it is usual to bash the stakeholders in our cricket. This is expected whenever the Caribbean team fails to impress whether at home or overseas. Having competed admirably with England in the previous Test series, even though we lost 2-1, it was thought that the West Indies would have done a better job in New Zealand. This was not the case as they lost in every format of the game.

However, as we try to assess the outcome of the series in England, New Zealand and the Under 19 competition, there is a need not to be too rash in chopping and changing. It has been shown time and time again, and over the course of the last 10 years or more, that this approach has not worked. West Indies ceased being world champions in the mid 1990s, after which the people who manage the game in these parts have undertaken programmes to rebuild the cricket.

Yet success has been hard in coming, perhaps because of the expectation of instant results. The West Indies Cricket Board has changed our coaches; they have changed the team captains; the selectors have chosen teams specifically suited for the different formats (Test cricket, limited overs and more recent the T20); they have broadened the management structure to include also trainers and other key personnel; and most importantly, have given the players increased remuneration.

The results have still been slow in coming and this has frustrated fans to the extent that at most games, there are not the sell-out crowds that were once associated with the West Indies in their glory days. Cricket is more than a game to Caribbean people. They see it as a battle between the West Indies and its opponents and get enormous satisfaction from
it. It is, or used to be, a religion and people around street corners, in the bars, in the buses, the office, anywhere relished in arguing about this game. All of that now seems
lost as the West Indies continue to under-perform.

During the recent Ashes series between England and Australia all the grounds were packed to capacity from day one. Although Australia won the first three matches, interest was still high throughout the series. We in the Caribbean would dearly love to see large crowds at our matches. However, this seems very unlikely.

However, it cannot be business as usual. Therefore, those in charge of the game must come up with a blueprint to make West Indies cricket great again.

It is not going to come by chopping and changing the team, but by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our game to see what needs to be done.