We seem to be moving backwards for our cricket to move forward. I cannot understand this unless we are using Newton’s law where to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
We are in the midst of the premier 50 overs tournament in the Caribbean, the Nagico Super50 and we are seeing matches being played or trying to be played at venues that are not up to first class.
It is a crime to have brilliant sunshine and no cricket. It is like watching a laden mango tree and admiring its beauty, rather than tasting the sweetness of the fruit.
The defending champion, Barbados Pride, shows up at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Couva to be greeted by brilliant sunshine and no cricket. The drainage at the NCC is not very good and after rain poured unto the ground for the past week, there was no way for the water to run off. Yet we have a full game simultaneously at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
While, I applaud the move by the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) to take cricket to the rural areas, they cannot do it at the cost of the cricket. This cannot lead to development of our cricketers and by extent cricket.
The very next day I show up at Shaw Park in Tobago and is greeted by men cutting the ground. I saw one guy hurriedly putting up signs at the gate, when people were already in the ground. The outfield was not good at all and the rain had fallen during the week but because of the poor drainage again, the outfield was not up to first class standard.
The media facilities leave a lot to be desired. There is limited internet and I had to find my own table and chair and set them up. I then went in search of anyone looking friendly enough to assist me with getting an electrical connection.
In this day and age, one should not have to be putting up with this. There was an arrangement between the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to have First Class matches played at only First Class venues.
What has happened to this? It seems like the WICB is reneging on this agreement and cricket will now be played at any venue, once you have 22 yards to put a pitch.
This cannot be good for cricket, as I feel for the players. They have to go out there and entertain on outfields that are dangerous. Imagine having to negotiate the white ball flying at you on fields that are uneven.
Cricket could develop without taking first class matches to every village. You need to have the best cricketers play in the best conditions in order to develop. We need to improve all facets of cricket in order for the game to move forward. So fine, we have moved away from running cricket in our car trunks but we are way behind the rest of the cricketing world.
Let me tell you something, I saw the development plans for cricket in Papau New Guinea and they might soon past us as well. We tend to copy things in the Caribbean and while copying could be good, we tend to copy halfway.
There are no two ways about it, if we want to play among the big boys and don’t get embarrassed then we need to take a long hard look at ourselves, make unpopular decisions and save cricket—plain and simple.
www.guardian.co.tt/
