NEWS
OPINION
GALLERY
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INTERVIEWS

The problem, and the cure, is -- money!

The regional Under-15 and Under-19 tournaments, in conjunction with the regional first class tournament, plus the regular 'A' team tours abroad should bear fruit later on. But it begs the question, why have these structures, except for the under 19 and first class tournaments, been put in place only recently? Again, finance is the answer. Before 1990, when Team World International ventured unto these shores to broadcast cricket live around the Caribbean and to foreign lands, enabling the W.I.C.B. to have a product to sell, the board had been one of the poorest boards in the World. They may not have moved too far up the pecking order, but at least there are a few dollars around now to put a few things in place. This new structuring should enable youngsters who, although bombarded with American sport, want to play cricket, to have ample opportunity to do so.

The onus, though, does not end with the W.I.C.B., as youngsters have to be grabbed and introduced to the game long before they qualify for the under 15 tournaments. This is where the local, regional boards have a big part to play. The boards in each island have to take it upon themselves to ensure mass participation at as early an age as possible of the youngsters in their island, and that means cricket in the schools and a revival of the youth clubs in islands that had youth clubs.

For those islands without youth clubs but with the infrastructure to support the same, thought should be given to starting them. Here again, the governments have a part to play. All schools should fall under the Ministry of Education, hence there should be no difficulty in getting cricket back into the schools on a well structured basis. The youth clubs should fall under the Ministry which looks after either sport or youth and culture, hence no foreseen problems there either.

But just as the W.I.C.B. cried out for lack of funds, the governments around the Caribbean may do likewise. I would suggest, though, that where there is a will, there is a way. In Jamaica for instance, there is a lottery company which, in keeping with their license to operate, has to donate ten per cent of its gross sales to a special fund set up to help promote and facilitate sports. That produces millions of dollars, and I can't help but wonder if firstly, the other islands that do have lotteries have a similar arrangement, if not, why not? And secondly, if some other similar arrangement could not be put in place in those islands that do not have a lottery, designed towards the same effect.

The days of West Indies youth naturally gravitating towards cricket are surely numbered if not gone forever, and so the game has got to be accessible and perhaps we even have to go as far as shepherding them in that direction. Improved marketing and attractiveness wouldn't hurt either.

Mention has been made of the West Indies Cricket Board investing in an Australian type cricket academy. While I agree in principle to the concept of identifying talent at an early age and nurturing it as much as possible, I don't think an actual building and specific site is quite necessary. The W.I.C.B. has embarked on an extensive program to train coaches up to an acceptable level and, with enough finances available, can employ these coaches on a full time basis, having them tour the Caribbean and do their work all year round.

With this in place, all that would be needed would be the organising of qualified persons to lecture, if that is the correct word, to the under 15 and under 19 teams when they gather in one island annually for their regional tournaments. These qualified persons would include past cricketers, prominent individuals in the Caribbean region and psychologists.

This approach would go a long way towards fostering the development of well rounded individuals who know what it means to represent the West Indies, give them confidence to face the outside world and ultimately, give the Caribbean people reason to have pride in their representatives both on and off the field.

I hope I am around when all this comes to fruition.

Michael Holding