Let’s start from the point of admittance…West Indies are at the absolute bottom of the cricketing nations of the world.
It is said that confession relieves the individual of stress and in this instance, if we make such a confession to our pastor or to ourselves, there will then be no expectations when our teams contest against others.
Having got that out of the way … we can now move on.
A reconstruction plan is needed. There has been an overabundance of research and analytical inquiry into our cricket….the time now is for implementation.
But before setting off on that major journey at the WI Cricket level, we at the starting point of that journey, we have to answer the question whether or not we feel within ourselves that it’s a journey of self discovery we want to embark upon. Do we feel within ourselves we can once again produce a world class team to represent the West Indies? Do we as a Zonal Council feel we have the capacity to re-enter the arena of world class cricket; and if the answer is yes where do we start?
I am suggesting WI cricket revival must start at the level of school and in the zones across the region.
Cricket W.I. can only deliver on the basis of the players and teams we groom from the ground up.
Do we in the North Zonal Council feel we have the capacity to take on the challenge to find and begin the nurturing of players who wi reach the international level? Or do we feel that our responsibility is restricted to providing some weekend exercise for a few dozen otherwise bored old timers and even fewer spectators?
Do we at the level of the North Zonal Council and at the schools level have a greater ambition than that we now display? There are many more questions to be answered and ambitions to display.
We in this Zone have the responsibility to decide on these matters….we have to recognize that if players with the potential to become world class…there is no other place they can come from but in zones and leagues like the North Zone.
Can we move our Zone from allowing for second class players to have an entertaining weekend? There are no other routes; and simply facilitating amusement and exercise will not move the West Indies cricket team from where it is lodged; this is not a job for others.
