The State of the Nation

Saturday January 14 2006

On Tuesday 13th March 2007 all eyes of the cricketing world will be well and truly focused on the Caribbean. This is the date for the official first game of the prestigious World Cup and will be taking place at Sabina Park, Jamaica.

The need for this tournament to run successfully and that "everything (for the Event) be done to world-class standards" as the Managing Director & CEO of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Inc. Chris Dehring put it, is of paramount importance for this once extremely fanatical cricket culture. The financial implications of staging the World Cup are crucial in securing the future of West Indies cricket.

Much money is being thrown into the development of the grounds all across the Caribbean, with some needing major upgrades to bring them to the desired standard, along with new grounds being built in Antigua and Guyana.

All of which will hopefully raise the interest of the young and old back into what was once clearly their national sport.

The interest has waned in West Indies cricket, and there are many reasons for this. The Test side figured in series against Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and failed to win any series. The ongoing tedious contract wranglings have blighted the management of picking their best sides on crucial tours and general confusion surrounding the direction of Caribbean cricket.

Of course it hasn't all been bad, with Brian Lara surpassing Allan Border as the most prolific Test run scorer ever, that figure currently standing at 11,204.

The growing potential of all rounder Dwayne Bravo is an additional source of joy; he scored his maiden Test century against South Africa, and added another one against Australia, as well as picking up 6 for 84 at Adelaide in the final test. Dinesh Ramdin is another impressive new kid on the block, despite only being 5 Tests into his international career he has shown a maturity with the bat and enough skill with his wicket-keeping gloves, to convince the watching public that West Indies have found a new long term successor to Jeff Dujon.

The coming year sees the Windies pitting their wits against New Zealand, starting in February, Zimbabwe are scheduled as visitors in April and India arrive in May. The ICC Champions Trophy starts again in October sparking recollections of the fantastic win they had against England as Ian Bradshaw and Courtney Browne knocked off what looked an unlikely total to win the trophy. The itinerary is complete with a trip to Pakistan in December.

Chris Gayle's return from injury will be a boost for the side, as they attempt to get a strong looking batting side to produce the runs on the field. The bowling attack still lacks sufficient quality, the absence of a top-line spinner one of a few problems - The resurgence of Leeward Islands Omari Banks and Trinidad & Tobago's Dave Mohammed offering viable options.

Something the management must sort, is the continuing policy to pick young players with very little experience, and then excluding them after a couple of tests if they haven't performed. Like any player, time is needed and they can't be expected to take the international scene by storm almost immediately.

Another dilemma is whether Shivnarine Chanderpaul will still be in charge? It is a seemingly thankless task, and 7 of the squad have recently been invited to undergo a 'Leadership Training Seminar' staged by the WICB in conjunction with the University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus.

Chanderpaul will be in attendance, as will as his vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, along with opener Chris Gayle, Darren Ganga, Wavell Hinds, Sylvester Joseph and wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin. Brian Lara was invited but is unavailable.

The Under 19 World Cup takes place this year, and it will be the newly appointed Jimmy Adams that coaches the Caribbean side in Colombo. He has replaced former West Indies spinner Roger Harper who relinquished the post to take up his position as coach of Kenya.

So on the pitch, Bennett King and co will be hoping for an improvement in results in 2006, now the contract problems appear to have been resolved for now, everyone can concentrate on the job in hand, which is trying to move West Indies back to near the top of the international ladder, which is where some in the game believe they belong.

Off the pitch, a very wealthy American called Allen Stanford is looking to invest a mere US$28 million in a regional 20/20 tournament taking place around October. The league has been endorsed by 14 West Indian cricketing legends in an attempt to raise the profile of the game to its former glories.

An interesting year then lies in wait, where the one thing you can guarantee, is that life in the Caribbean will never be dull.

(Cricket365, 14/01/06)