My article last week about West Indies cricket must have touched a chord, because not too long after it came out, I got several calls from people within the halls of power in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that I should sit and meet with the president himself to bounce some ideas off him. I found myself sitting face to face with Dave Cameron himself in his Kingston office earlier this week.
jamaica-gleaner.com
Cameron and I have exchanged pleasantries for years, but this was the first time I was talking to him at length. I found him far more cordial and approachable than I would have imagined, but most importantly, I found that he was prepared to be different, even radical, in his ideas as to how to move West Indies cricket forward. There may be hope, after all.
Among the things that were discussed at that meeting was that the High Per-formance Centre (HPC), in its current structure, isn't serving the best purpose. HPC throws a random bunch of cricketers together, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason in the way those players are selected. Some of them may struggle to get in their own territorial team, never mind the West Indies team, which seems to be a waste of time and investment.
De Facto 'a' team
Mr Cameron seemed open to the idea that the HPC ought to be, in essence, the West Indies 'A' team. All of them should pretty much be standard picks on their national team and on the verge of senior West Indies team selection. Those who have tasted international cricket, but who have fallen off could also be part of the HPC.
Apart from whatever they do there, the HPC would then play as the West Indies 'A' team, whether touring or hosting other international 'A' teams, and the players would therefore be more ready to play at the highest level. This would be a step in the right direction.
We also discussed that every territorial team should have its own list of contracted players, maybe 15 or 20, who are kept together for training pretty much full-time, with time off for matches on the weekend. These cricketers would know what it's like to be on the job like any other civil servant, for a 40-hour workweek. They would be exposed to coaches, nutritionists, trainers, the works.
Of course, the matter of funding now becomes crucial, but each territory would have its own marketing consultant to seek sponsorship for these cricketers. The president was also open to such programmes being at least partially funded by the WICB itself, as long as the structure could be worked out. This would raise the skill levels of all the players and make regional cricket stronger.
staying together
What was most interesting in our little informal chat was the president believing that West Indies cricketers, in the future, must essentially be in one location when not on international or other overseas assignments. The idea immediately resonated with me. The coach should be able to have the players at his disposal when they are not on international duties, and their being in one location helps.
Most success-ful sports teams, be it in football or basketball or netball, see the coach having access to his players pretty much all year round, except for those who have contracts in other countries. The WICB must think about going this route. That is now done when they are called for camps for a week or two prior to a tour, but that contact period between coach and players is not long enough. Of course, all sorts of logistics would have to be worked out.
Players would now probably need longer central contracts, from a year to, say, three years, and players might have to relocate families, but West Indies players virtually living together with a full-time coach could only help their cricket.
I wish Dave Cameron luck. Implementing some of these ideas would mean that he would run into some resistance, at least in the initial stages, but those of us who love West Indies cricket must support these initiatives. Otherwise, we will continue to see our team, once the best in the world, continue to languish at the bottom of the pile.
Orville Higgins is a sportscaster at KLAS FM. Email feedback to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
