WI cricket failing

THE EDITOR: We bemoan the fact that West Indies cricket needs to be seriously vamped up. We want to return to the days when the cricketing world was left breathless at the prowess of the West Indian cricket team.

Of what quality is the present day player? Strength, stamina and talent will be essential ingredients. Can our cricketers alone be responsible for their own health and well being? How supportive is management once the talent of an individual is recognised?

Each Caribbean territory interested will put forward the names of their best players but the quality of player will depend on the management skills of each island. The talent pool for sport in the West Indies now sees football eating away at cricket. The nurturing of good cricketers is expensive and the monetary gains for players of cricket will allegedly be far less than football. Each player must really and truly want to succeed at cricket for the very love of playing the game.

Consider the fact that in the West Indies, our cricketers do not enjoy the exposure to sustained training encounters like enthusiasts in UK, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, to name a few. These countries have vibrant cricket clubs and ardent followers who support both the long and short versions of the game.

In the Caribbean arena we appear allegedly constrained by top managerial issues that need to be addressed before we even get going. The West Indies cricket team is only as good as management.

Is there petty posturing within West Indian cricket management hindering the return to fame and fortune?

Will the truth of the crux of the matter set us all free?

Lynette Joseph, Diego Martin