THE PROBLEM WHICH SUCCESS BROUGHT TO THE WEST INDIES.

The Indians may have enjoyed the success during the last test series, with superiority over their opponents, which cricket lovers of the Caribbean were present to witness.

Following comments made by the former Indian star batsmen of the seventies, Sunil Gavaskar, who stated he wanted to see the West Indies become a powerhouse again as they did from the late 1970s. West Indies in those days enjoyed the presence of great fast bowlers in the regional team, the competition between these two countries was exciting.

Ind_vs_WI 2019
Photo via: The Quint

Past vs Present

Today, there is no comparison and Virat Kholi’s team of talented players performed with a level of competence which did not allow much, top-grade batting among the West Indians. Outside of the magnificent speed and swing of Kemar Roach, there was a shortage of quality bowling which reached nowhere close to the brilliance of Mike Holding, Sir Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall (deceased) Joel Garner, Ian Bishop and others.

The time is ripe for a complete reorganization of the development of our Cricket which can lead to the great days of old. We must first admit that the current players in test cricket today will have “mastered” the habits we have seen in their performances.

The Way Foward

It is necessary to restart the process. Experts of the CWI need to address a new development of Cricket which will begin with the very young players. There must be a process of early teaching of every aspect of the game, with more emphasis placed on the teaching methods. The importance of entering the minds of kids must be enjoyed, and tutors help them to utilize their natural skills, along with their motor skills, natural rhythms and physical growth. Their process must include in the basic understanding of the orthodox patterns of movement, together with the consistency and desire to become better.

Cricket camp
Photo via: Guyana Times

The days for mass producing any sportsmen and women in the Caribbean region must be built upon a precise degree of physical education, and repetitive movement. This will be the basis upon which to improve and understand the road to progress. Unfortunately, not many methods if any was available to our youths in the past. Players like Sir Gary Sobers, Lawrence Rowe, Sir Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Rohan Kanhai, to name a few, were not subjected to voices sharing information. These players were naturally talented from tender ages and with little or no education of the theoretical process handed out professionally.

Thankfully, the Good Lord decided that our part of the world was placed with supernatural gifts whereby our nations and our people are able to thrive under any circumstance. The CWI must now view the development of west Indies Cricket in a methodical, expressing the educational messages collectively in terms of the learning process.

This means offering job opportunities to the legends of this wonderful game, so players can offer more moments of joy and ultimately success within the next decade.

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Dr. Alvin Corneal
Honorary Dr.Alvin Corneal HBM. Alvin is one of a handful of sportsmen who represented our national Football (Soccer) and Cricket teams concurrently between 1955 and 1971. He was also a member of the first-ever West Indies Football team which toured England in 1959. He played both sports professionally as a player and a coach to all levels of National Football teams. He had previously held positions as National football Coach of junior and senior teams, Technical Director of the TTFA, Technical Director of Concacaf, and the prestigious positions as FIFA Technical Committee Member and currently, a FIFA Technical Advisor. He is also a presenter/ analyst for Radio and television on all local, regional and International Sports. He is the recipient of a national Award from his country, Trinidad and Tobago for his outstanding service to the people of the region in Sport and ideal Character personality. He was also chosen to receive the Country’s Republic day award for the year 2011. He has been inducted into the Country’s Hall of Fame.