So, tomorrow night Caribbean time is D night for the West Indies team to salvage some pride in the fifth and final ODI against the Australians. Can they do it? Only time will tell. But what about the future of the game in the Caribbean? Where are we going to get the next generation of world beaters from? Certainly, we cannot find them the way we are doing now. Things need to change. The new CEO of West Indies cricket Earnest Hilaire is a man who is visionary, but will the old guard of West Indies cricket allow his vision to shine.

We need a cricket academy; not a building in Grenada or Barbados called a cricket academy, but a PROGRAMME. What do I mean by this? What we have or is it had in Grenada or Cave Hill Campus in Barbados is a building where cricketers go for short period of time. The academy programme is fundamentally different, in that, it's all all-year-round activity. How does it opereate?  In each island, the West Indies Board appoints coaches to go from community to community, competitions to competitions, schools to schools to scout for potential talent. When these talents are identified, they are put into the academy, given a programme and managed by one of the coaches. The programme must include among other things, cricketing skills, nutrition, social skills, media relations and health and fitness.

These players are put through the paces periodically to test their progress and only the best players remain in the programme after a specified period of time.

What can we do about the structure of the WICB? It seems like the same people have been running the game int he region for decades and seem to bring an out-dated approach to the game. They, it apprears, have not appreciated the fact that cricket is now a profession and no longer a part-time sport. I think cricketers themselves, at the club level need to rise up and say enough is enough, time for a change!!

Why is it in this a time of plenty, the Board always seems to be broke?

So, here are again, another series and another series defeat. When will the slaughter come to an end? When will the West Indies cricket team resume winning? The truth is from the looks of hting, not anytime soon.

Australia is making Chris Gayle swallow his words and he must now have mud all over his face, after making such bold and may I say baseless predictions that West Indies will win the current series 4-1. Chris, come on buddy, did a duppy tell you that in your sleep? when was the last time the team won a series, must more to win a series against Australia so convincingly?

It is still beyond me why in 2010 the West Indies team is announced days before a tour.What do we then expect from the team, miracles? Why can't out touring teams be selected a month in advance and then put into camp to train for at least three to four weeks before departing for a tour? Is it that the board does not plan so far ahead? Is it that we do n ot have money? or is it just good old short-sightedness? We are still operating in this modern age of professional sport as if we are still into calypso cricket.

In my next post I will suggest some solutions, in the meantime I hope we can at least win the final one day match to salvage some pride, if the team knows what that is.