AFTER MONTHS of taking a fair amount of battering on the international cricket scene, the Cricket West Indies hierarchy decided that something needed to happen fast, and as such, called on some of the best minds in the game to brainstorm and come up with working solutions that will help stop the haemorrhaging in the regional game.
A two-day emergency meeting ensued in Trinidad, with legends, the likes of Sir Clive Lloyd and Brian Lara, meeting with CWI management to flesh out solutions to some of the immediate problems plaguing the regional side.
Despite a less-than-stellar record as an all-format coach, Daren Sammy got the thumbs up from Sir Clive Lloyd regarding his presentation, which was made at the meeting.
With the current on-field performance woefully lacking, former captain Lara suggested that the region has to get up to speed with some of the bigger nations when it comes to how big a part technology plays in generating good performances.
Lara acknowledged that while West Indies once dominated world cricket through sheer skill, the game has evolved, and the region must adapt.
“We are not on the same level playing field as other countries. With technology and analytics now crucial, we must find new ways to become competitive again.”
With regard to longer-term solutions, the summit identified several critical issues, including systemic deficiencies, inadequate facilities for practising, and declining standards in regional domestic cricket.
The summit also highlighted strength and conditioning gaps, and the urgent need for a more far-reaching high-performance centre and an academy system.
Additionally, the decline of school cricket was highlighted as a major concern, with CWI Director of Cricket Miles Bascombe pointing out that the talent pipeline from grassroots levels has weakened significantly.
Bascombe expressed concern over the deterioration of school cricket, stressing the need for structured player tracking from an early age.
“A lot of schools now don’t play primary- or secondary-school cricket, or the level has deteriorated to a point where the quality of cricketers coming through isn’t the same. CWI has committed to developing programmes to monitor and nurture young talent from grassroots levels.”
With that said, cricket strategy chairman Enoch Lewis emphasised the importance of establishing a high-performance centre to nurture talent consistently, something that has fallen by the wayside in recent years.
“Things like a high-performance centre to assist with the ongoing development of all cricketers with academies in different territories, these are quite exciting things that need urgent attention.” He added that plans would be presented to CWI’s executive team for swift implementation, with some initiatives expected in the short term.
CWI CEO Chris Dehring compared the rebuilding process to assembling a Lego set, prioritising key pieces before completing the structure.
“We’re not able to build everything at once, but we know the priorities,” he said.
“It’s going to take innovation and risk-taking, but the end result is worth it.”
With a clear road map in place, CWI aims to implement structural reforms swiftly, hoping to restore West Indies cricket to its former glory. The coming months will be crucial as the board works to turn these plans into action.
