Ali wants betterment in TT, WI youth cricket

FORMER West Indies Under-19 cricketer Zaheer Ali is calling for changes in youth cricket, both locally and regionally.

Ali said it saddened him to learn that the recently concluded TTCB (TT Cricket Board) Under-13 Inter Zone competition did not include the selection of a TTCB XI or a national Under-13 team to tour the Caribbean, play against a Tobago team or face off against a secondary school team.

“We must recognise and appreciate that the success of our national and West Indies cricket teams hinges on the focus and purpose that we direct at the youth levels.”

In an interview earlier this week, Ali said the current approach in youth cricket stifled the opportunity for further development and recognition of young cricketers.

“How can we cultivate the required interest and expect young persons to play cricket when there is no recognition and motivation to do so?” Ali asked.

While he acknowledged that there was no regional Under-13 competition – something which concerns him and which he said should be addressed by Cricket West Indies, Ali said that should not be a justification for not selecting a national Under-13 team when the last ball was bowled in the inter-zone competition last month.

In fact, Ali said the Under-15 regional tournament should have been the impetus for the TTCB to consider the younger Under-13 cricketers as the first stage of preparation for the regional competition.

He said consideration should be given to using the Under-13 competition to promote development, prepare for future competitions and further the exposure of young cricketers, “especially where it is foreseeable that some of the Under-13 cricketers, if not all, would form the pool of players from which the national Under-15 team would be selected."

The ex-WI Under-15 captain said it was worrying to him that the recently concluded Under-13 zonal competition did not create the opportunity for each team to play each other “to promote fair competition, create more cricket and expose the young cricketers to different oppositions and conditions.”

Ali said, “In my humble view, this approach and thinking defeats the development of the player and the game. Youth tournaments must engender and promote the opportunity for effective competition, development, self-actualisation, recognition and aim to cultivate the continued interest to play the game at all levels.

“There must be a clear vision and well-defined objectives to identify talent, to secure the desired pool of cricketers to supplement our national youth and senior teams, to attract more young persons to the game, to promote the sport as a national good and to assist in curbing the challenges steering our nation youths,” he has proposed.

To effect changes, Ali has recommended that the TTCB hold consultations with all stakeholders on getting younger cricketers more involved in the game.

At present, there are regional competitions from the Under-15 level, while a national Under-13 team is selected for development tours.