The West Indies have made a disastrous start to the Super Eight phase of the Cricket World Cup 2007 by losing their first match against Australia on Tuesday and their second against New Zealand the following day.
The Governance Committee of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has, with uncanny timimg, now inviting the public to make recommendations which will help the Board "to identify the mechanisms and processes that will return the West Indies to the pinnacle of world cricket and thereafter sustain the region's ascendancy in the game. The aim is to restore and maintain pride in West Indies cricket, thereby strengthening the bond between the people of the Caribbean and the game".
The problem is that we do not properly target the youth. It is imperative that we organise cricket at the under 13, under 11, under 9, and even under 7 level. We need to inculcate into our infant school students the fundamentals of the game like the virtues of stepping out to the pitch of the ball and hitting from a sideways-on position with a still head. Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon cricket clinics need to be set up in all of our islands manned by coaches following a programme approved by the WICB.
It has proved to be a losing proposition to get most of our senior cricketers to adhere to the basics, no doubt because their bad technique has become ingrained owing to years of bad habits.
I'm afraid that unless we focus on the youth we shall be doomed to mediocrity and failure on the world stage.
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