Windward Islands Cricket Circus

If you are a Cricket fan, or a just a sports fan for that matter, and in need of a bellyful of laughter, just take a look at the happenings of Windwards Cricket, and you are sure to get a good serving, plus dessert.

Like a circus, the players and the administrators of the four-nation grouping are the main performers.{{more}}

Unsettled as to the direction they both want to take the game in the Windwards, the juggling of the format of the yearly senior competition takes place almost each year.

After having a three day format for the League competition in 2007, the administrators prescribed a two day format this year – a decision that was made public right here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the Presentation Ceremony of last year’s tournament.

Justification came in the fact that four of the six matches last year finished in two days.

The recent tournament held in Dominica was indicative of the low level of cricket in the Windwards, as there were two outright wins, and a possibility of the third had rain not intervened.

But the administrators ran a round robin limited overs competition this year, away from the knock out format that occurred last year.

So who should take the blame?

Was it that the players thought that they had to get a result in the two days so they played accordingly?

Or should they have at this time proven the administrators wrong?

To put it mildly, the tournament was a waste of time, turning out to be nothing but a means to select the Windwards team.

To have teams score consistently under 100 is unacceptable.

In one match, 31 wickets fell in one day, and we call that Cricket. Was it poor batting, great bowling or a bad pitch?

The youngsters who are involved in the Kiddy Cricket Programme would have been heroes had they been participating in the tournament.

As it stood, one-eye men turned out to be royals in a kingdom of blind men.

Only out of favour West Indies opener Devon Smith scored a century. Nine batsmen got past 50.

Bowlers had a field day, with many getting bounties.

The bad thing is that the team selected will go to the regional competitions and more often than not be steam rolled by the other territories, especially in the four day set up. The last or near last position is theirs seemingly for keeps.

One can come to the conclusion that our players are in a mode and mind set of the swash buckling, fast food, quick fix approach, hence the reason the Windwards has won the two titles at the Limited over format and has reached the finals and semi finals on other occasions.

Can we deduce then that we are more apt at the very short version of the game, hence three players are in the Stanford Superstars team?

Windward Islands Cricket is stuck in this mire because of widespread disorganisation and petty island cricket politics.

And, it has been so for several years. The Windwards is the weakest link on the broken chain of West Indies Cricket.

It will continue to be this way unless serious actions geared towards addressing the prolonged slide in Windwards Cricket are taken.

What has gone so wrong since the runner up spots in 1982 and 1983, immediately after the disbanding of the Combined Islands?

Their may be reasons other than cricket, but the Windwards struggle to keep players on the West Indies teams.

But, let us face it, our players are not exposed to a consistently high standard of play all year round, hence they become champions in their backyard and commoners as they go one step ahead.

It may be sounding like a dysfunctional Compact Disc, to here suggest that the best coaches should be afforded to our young and budding cricketers, instead of the other way around, as currently obtains. Bad habits grow rather than disappear after being learned at a tender age.

This is certainly not the only cure.

A complete overhaul of operations, maybe personnel, too, must come into effect, if there is to be a turn around.

But a permanent circus was put in place with the erection of the ‘Mound’ at the Sion Hill Playing Field.