Legendary batter Brian Lara said West Indies are no longer on the same level-playing field as other playing countries and underlined that steps need to be taken to protect the interests of young Caribbean players to keep them motivated enough to be in the system.
His comments came after a two-day emergency meeting of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) members in Trinidad, which was attended by him, Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and current coach Darren Sammy.
The CWI had summoned this meeting in the wake of the West Indies’ dismal show against Australia in the third Test last month where they were bowled out for a mere 27, the second-lowest score in Tests.
Lara pointed out that for years, the West Indies has not been on the ‘same level-playing field as compared to other countries’. “Back in the days when skill was the prominent factor, we excelled, we were the best team in the world. But the game has evolved, and technology and analytics, and we now have to see a new way of finding ourselves back to being very competitive,” he said, according to ESPN CricInfo.
He added: “I said not a level-playing field because a lot of the countries are far ahead in these sorts of areas. The skill factor of the game is still there, but not as prominent as it was in the past.”
The West Indies great acknowledged that the road to revival will be ‘long’, especially since the idea of representing the West Indies all-year-round might not be the only thing that motivates youngsters. He added that while cricket remains important, the motivational factors have changed over the decades.
In the 1950s and 60s, Lara said it was about ‘showing colonisers that they can play cricket and govern themselves’; in the 70s and 80s, it was about being ‘the best in the world’. “Presently, if I can fast forward, the game has now very much become commercialised. The franchise system is definitely on the mind of every young person, and every parent as well. When you see what’s happening around the world with the IPL, the American cricket league [MLC] and much else.
”The motivational factors we have to tap into: what motivates youngsters today? It might not be just representing the West Indies 365 days of the year. It might be playing in an IPL or a BBL or something else. We have to find out those interests and see where West Indies cricket can still benefit from the youngsters,” he added.
He also spoke about the ‘unfortunate’ retirement of young wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran from international cricket at 29. Pooran hung up his boots prematurely to make himself available for the T20 leagues.
“Find out why these things are happening and how we can stem that sort of situation, and we get the best players to play for the West Indies. Australia, India and England and these countries benefit from wholeheartedness from their players, the passion that they have playing for their country. We have to get that to return to West Indies cricket,” he added.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
