Cricket West Indies has identified “100 things to improve” and needs to have a holistic solution, including systemic changes, for the betterment of the sport in the region, the CWI cricket committee said after a two-day emergency meeting in Trinidad.
The committee, which included the likes of Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and current head coach Daren Sammy, among others, said the young players need to have a sense of pride playing for the West Indies.
“One of the things we spoke about over the two days was how much our young players truly understand — or don’t understand — the history they’re stepping into when they put on that maroon cap,” said Enoch Lewis, chair of the CWI cricket strategy and officiating committee.
Lewis said that the board will put in measures to educate the youngsters about the history of cricket in West Indies.
“When you’re 18 or 19 and getting your first call-up, you’re just trying to survive at that level — but we want our players to do more than survive. We want them to feel the pride of representing a legacy built by people who fought for equality, dignity, and excellence, often in the face of adversity,” Lewis added.
However, it is not just about imparting historical knowledge but also about developing players through the schooling system — which has broken down.
“Many schools no longer play cricket at all, or the standard of primary and secondary school cricket has deteriorated to the point where we’re not seeing the same quality of players come through,” Miles Bascombe, Director of Cricket, said.
“We’ve agreed on the importance of tracking players from those very early stages — primary school, grassroots programmes — so we can really understand our catchment area and the talent pool we’ll be drawing from,” Bascombe added.
The Caribbean faces a unique challenge of aligning 15 nation states and territories for one goal. “Each territory quite rightly wants to protect its own programmes and players, but as Cricket West Indies, our job is to ensure that what’s good for the whole region takes priority,” Lewis explained.
“If we can align the territorial system with a single, shared vision for West Indies cricket — from grassroots to the international stage — then we can create a pipeline of talent that benefits everyone,” he added.
West Indies has also been hit by several early international retirements, most recently being Nicholas Pooran at the age of 29.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
West Indies has also been hit by several early international retirements, most recently being Nicholas Pooran at the age of 29.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
West Indies has also been hit by several early international retirements, most recently being Nicholas Pooran at the age of 29. Acknowledging the challenge of lucrative deals that franchise cricket gives, Lara said West Indies needs a way to motivate its players to balance things out.
“The game has now been very much commercialised. The franchise system is definitely in the mind of every young person and every parent as well. When you see what’s happening around the world with the IPL, the American cricket league (MLC) and much else. The motivational factors we have to tap into: what motivates youngsters today? It might not be just representing West Indies 365 days of the year. It might be playing in an IPL or a BBL or something else,” Lara said.
“It’s unfortunate (that) a young man at the age of 29, like Nicholas Pooran, will call an end to his international career. Find out why these things are happening and how we can stem that sort of situation, and we get the best players to play for West Indies. Australia, India and England – and these countries benefit from wholeheartedness from their players, the passion that they have playing for their country,” the legendary batter added.
While the West Indian white ball team still has been competitive, there has been a massive quality dip in the Test format. In July, West Indies was bundled out for a mere 27 — the second-lowest total in Tests — against Australia. The collapse was also one of the major reasons for CWI to hold an ‘emergency’ meeting.
“We know there are different opportunities now — T20 leagues, franchise cricket, overseas contracts — and we understand players will explore those,” Lewis said.
“The challenge for us is to make sure our First-Class structure is competitive, attractive, and financially viable, so players see real value in committing to it,” he added.
Lara said West Indies is not in the level-playing field, noting that the rest of the countries have advanced themselves in terms of technology and analytics.
According to the CWI chief executive, Chris Dehring, the country has a massive amount of goodwill among the member nations because of its history and that the challenge is to how effectively it uses it. “India always makes a point to include the West Indies on their schedule, regardless of how strong or weak we’re perceived to be.”
“It’s not just about traditional allies like India, Australia, and England. The United States is a massive market that’s opening up. US cricket recently passed the 400,000 registered players mark, and they’ve reached out to explore ways we can work together. Some see it as helping to develop USA cricket, but it’s equally about developing West Indies cricket at every level,” Dehring said.
