THERE IS now a daily chorus bemoaning the fall in the standard of our cricket in the Caribbean. It is not just that we lose, but we seem ill equipped either mentally or physically for the contest. We appear incapable of putting up a spirited struggle.
Two factors serve to deepen the agony of our constant defeats. One is the fact that not so long ago, the cricket world paid obeisance to Caribbean cricketers. The second fact is that cricket, like nothing else, has so far served to unite these tiny island fiefdoms into one people. If our cricket goes, we may lose any chance of lasting Caribbean concord.
Various reasons have been advanced for the decline. Among these are the following:
1. A fall in overall social standards. (The question is: Have standards fallen only in this region?)
2. The general level of education is low and does not provide our cricketers with the intellectual capacity necessary to cope with a game that is played as much with the mind as with the body.
Two questions come immediately to mind here: What has happened to the much touted idea that the level of intellectual capability should have risen rather than the reverse? What was the level of education of our past greats compared to their international counterparts?
3. During our glory days, the administrators did not prepare for lean years. (There seems to be some merit in this idea. If so, what are we doing about making the necessary corrections?)
4. For those who make it to the team, the rewards come regardless of performance and output.
(There may be some merit in this also. Young people today are fed on a diet of instant gratification. This deficiency is not aided by the knowledge-starved self-professed gurus who do not know that they know not, because they are shouting so loudly on the call-in programmes that they appear to stand and stare but have no time for serious thought.
(So they miss the point that the fault and the means of correction is not in our stars but in ourselves. We are the reason that we continue to be underlings. For those who demand value for money paid to the present crop of cricketers, this latter group speak of jealousy. They miss the point. It is not envy but a yearning for excellence, which can only come from a strict adherence to discipline and continuous improvement.)
Most thinking and knowledgeable people accept the fact that cricket has become a business like other leading sports played out on the world scene. What bothers me most is that if our local standards keep on falling in relation to the other cricketing countries, we are likely to kill the cricket goose and there will be no golden eggs left for those who follow this current generation of underachievers.
We need to invest heavily both in monetary and mental resources in order to identify our problems, their source/s and to craft solutions before we are booed off the world cricket stage.
Here are some previously advanced solutions that I support:
* Take a five-year break from competitive cricket of all sorts.
* Create a West Indian Cricket League.
* Provide funding and management in a manner similar to that provided for the West Indian Court of Appeal.
* Alternatively, provide tax incentives that would encourage the private sector in the region to invest in the West Indian Cricket League, or create a special CARICOM tax, like the VAT, which would provide the necessary funds.
* Determine how many teams we would need in each territory to make the league work. The teams would play against each other on a year-round basis and the matches would be marketed in such a way as to create public interest. This would help to provide ongoing funding.
* Establish precise standards based on performance for the selection of cricketers. Once selected, cricketers would be required to maintain their place in the league by following a regular routine of practical as well as social, academic and necessary pursuits. They would be paid a salary and would be eligible for selection on the West Indian team, again based on reaching and maintaining set standards.
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This article was submitted as a letter to the editor.
