West Indies Cricket Fans

I am not attacking the regional national rivalries. indeed I would like to extend it into regional soccer and athletics, basketball etc

but if we talking improvement and extension of opportunity at FC level it must be a club competition..as well as the national one we now have.

at any rate the west indies will become more of a nation in time. as long as the region survives populated by the current people of the region a federation of some sort seem inevitable. nothing stays the same. things must change according to need and function as the situation in which they live changes as well driven by technological and economic change

the west indies will not stay the same so we ought to be looking to see how best all such change can be managed in the interest of the population

there is one huger threat facing the west indies at the moment and that is a precipitous fall in regional fertility. upwards of a third of west indian males are infertile or seriously challenged in reproducing themselves. and as far as I can see this problem is trending upwards, increasing.

in 30-50 years will there be even be enough players to produce teams for competitions?

sounds far-fetched but it is real!

here is a major development that we have to deal with quickly and successfully

Googley wrote:

cricket can only be improved by a grass roots effort to get cricket back into the schools

EXACTLY!!! Mike!! you hit the nail on the head.

I do believe Alvin Kallicharran said the same thing several years ago when he was asked what it will take to bring WI cricket back to the top.

It has to start from the root, not the branches.

The root is rotten in WI cricket. Too much corruption, not enough attention being given to the school cricketers.

Have you seen the condition of the local grounds in the WI? When I go to Guyana and see how many cricket grounds are now being used as cow pasture, it makes you cry! So guess what the kids are doing?

MOving to other sports!!!

Quite right, googs...your comments about cricket grounds in the communities makes for difficult reading for supporters of the WICB, simply because they're doing nothing to reverse it.

And it becomes a brutal, self-perpetuating cycle, because when kids lose interest in playing cricket, they move on to other sports, as you accurately point out. Those same kids who have lost interest in cricket become adults who pay money to watch their teams play football and compete in athletics, so those matches and events are well-attended, while our four-day final draws three men and a dog.

How is Pybus going to get sponsorship for a tournament that can't even draw spectators?

In comparison, Jamaica's Invitational track meet, which is just one tier below a Diamond League meet, and is on par with the outstanding Ostrava meet in the Czech Republic, continues to draw good crowds. Because it draws good crowds, this meet attracts good sponsors:

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/2014 ... orts3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"In response to an appeal from the organising committee of the Jamaica International Invitational meet (JII), the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) Group has provided $6 million for the staging of tomorrow 's prestigious sporting event."

Can the JCA raise J$6m for their contribution to Pybus's great plan? I doubt it....

The only solution is to get kids playing cricket once more, and we will probably see the benefits in a decade's time. But I somehow doubt that the WICB and Pybus have the will to put in the hard work for that to happen....

Regional cricket can only be improved by a grass roots effort to get cricket back into the schools

I agree however, the suggestion Pybus will design and administer a plan for cricket in schools throughout the region (grassroots) that supersedes the existing sporting curriculum of each of the 15 territories borders on fantasy.

Any one entertaining the idea a national government will allow an un elected foreigner to dictate such plans are firmly entrenched in said location, moreso if they've kept it real by staying in the region and now skin out at every one of said foreigners pronouncements.

Further, the maintenance of national playing fields is not a WICB responsibility therefore approval for such an arrangement rests, again, with government, all 15.

Kids will do as they please, making a provision for kiddie cricket is all well and good but as the adults in this forum will testify, if they are of the mind to do something else.....

IMO The poor state of existing facilities speaks directly to the will / national psyche / sporting heritage-legacy of each member.

the suggestion Pybus will design and administer a plan for cricket in schools throughout the region (grassroots) that supersedes the existing sporting curriculum of each of the 15 territories borders on fantasy.

thank you!!

and yet people fall hook line and sinker when he spewed this out!!!

Here's an article which typifies how low on the list of priorities cricket has become in Jamaica....

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/co ... 41551.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"The couple of matches at the Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny, Jamaica, leading into New Zealand's three Tests in the Caribbean next month, carry potentially more significance than the meaningless exercises such warm-ups are usually do. With the international calendar now chock-a-block with Tests, ODIs, T20s and an accommodating window for the Indian Premier League, some teams have abandoned warm-ups altogether. New Zealand went straight into the internationals on their last tour of the West Indies, in 2012; they were beaten in the two T20s, four of the five ODIs, and both Tests. The days of prolonged tours, including valuable first-class clashes against states, counties, provinces and the like, passed into history a quarter century ago. So what makes New Zealand's appearance at Trelawny different? For one, it's the return of cricket to the 10,000-seat facility that was specifically built for the 2007 World Cup with a US$9 million loan to the government from China. The tournament was the biggest sporting extravaganza ever held in the cricketing Caribbean. It was launched against a backdrop of performances by internationally famous calypso, soca and reggae stars, and over 2000 dancers, the mandatory fireworks display, and speeches by Sir Garry Sobers and West Indian prime ministers. Four group practice matches followed. It has sat virtually barren ever since, its outfield reportedly a grazing pasture for goats. As Sabina Park and the National Stadium, the homes of Jamaica's premier sports, respectively cricket and football, and track and field, are situated in the capital, Kingston, Trelawny was to be the multi-purpose centre for the north of the island. The proximity of the resort towns of Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Falmouth added to its attraction. It hasn't worked out that way. The stadium has hosted a solitary cricket match, between the Australians and Jamaica over three days, in May 2008. A few Under-17 football World Cup qualifiers were played there; for three years, the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival was its most popular event."

What Cozier doesn't realise is that the U17 World Cup qualifiers pulls more crowds than cricket, and so does music festivals. There's more of an explanation here:

http://www.falmouthtravelguide.com/gree ... h-jamaica/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greenfields hosted a World Cup qualifier between the Reggae Boyz and Bahamas on 2008, and some Caribbean Cup matches. The most popular football club in the parish of Trelawny, Village United, was based there for a while, and they pulled more fans than cricket could hope to, but their tenure at Greenfields ended when they were relegated from Jamaica's top tier football club competition.

How is Pybus going to get sponsorship for a tournament that can't even draw spectators?

Mike, as you pointed out a while back, the WICB are attempting to lure the same sponsors who are already signed up with the CPL.

If they search outside this finite circle they will almost certainly have to deal with reduced returns as such a pool of prospective sponsors will have less of a history of commitment to cricket or interest in sport.

I cant see spectators attending in large numbers until there is an affordable product that generates excitement in a competitive environment, things intermittent internet broadcasts, the HPC or a successful A team fail to address.

Presently almost 45% of all R4D match's don't fulfill a requisite standard of competitiveness (see Guyana, Leewards and CCC) which is an unavoidable reality for prospective partners but not a problem the CPL suffers from. The funny thing is, if the match's had good attendance there wouldn't be as much desperation for sponsors.

I think it's time the WICB start thinking about allowing fans in for free / a minimal cost to R4D games and then attempting to turn a profit by servicing their need for food. drink and merchandise once they've actually managed to hold an audiences attention for longer than three hours / one session.
Giving away large amounts of tickets through competitions (Social media, Radio and TV) is also a proven method of generating spectator interest and sponsor awareness while reducing the cost of tickets for international fixtures to patrons attending all four days of a FC match should also generate interest on the ground but IMO, once there is a strong core audience sponsors will naturally follow.

" I’ve had several meetings with [Director of Cricket] Richard Pybus and he has a clear idea where he “wants to take the cricket.” Says Gibson in the T&T guardian

http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2014-05-04/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"

Gibson seems to give the impression Pybus can circumvent said issues with proposals that have stalled for two months on the CCC's participation / entitlement to professional status.

His views on this CCC/professionalism situation would have been a lot more welcome than his observations on a R4D comp that produced 20 centuries - from batsmen he has no intention, for the most part, of picking, or his ever so lofty goal of " showing what went on in NZ (the no 8 team, and India ) is not the way we want to play cricket ".

Btw, I'm yet to hear overseer Pybus's opinion on the dysfunctional selection panel/process.

LOL i see POOgley and Mike are SITTING IN A TREE to rhatid!!...i don't need to repeat what dem doing!!

1. mike loves to run his BIG MOUTH about "can't attract people to regional game" AND YET FAILS TO MENTION THE CPL WHICH BLOWS HIS BELOVED "ATHLETICS" out of the water!!

2. Developement of the grass roots is well under way POOgley!!..they've been putting on kids cricket clinics all over the caribbean, they've given funds to cricket clubs all over the region and now plans are being drawn up to link school cricket to club sides..so shut your stinking mouth please!!

3. There were crowds at both the one day competition and the four day competition...the Leewards vs Jamaica night game attracted thousands there, the bim vs trinidad semi-final attracted a big crowd!!..then we have the nagico semi-final and final which was a FULL HOUSE!!..

4. Maybe mike needs to look at his OWN country because i'm seeing footage from the county game between Durham and Yorkshire right now and it's virtually EMPTY!!..and it's no surprise because class cricket around the world doesn't really draw massive crowds.

1) The CPL is on par with athletics in Jamaica...the future is regional rivalries between countries like Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad, etc, and not the West Indies. Also, the younger generation are fans of T20 cricket, not the longest form of the game.

2) Until we see the results of grass-roots development in the schools, that remains just talk....

3) The one-day competition in Trinidad was well-supported for the first time in years, because it was marketed by a series of well-placed ads by Nagico. That was a lesson to the WICB in marketing. Until the WICB marketing dept get off their arses and do something to earn their salaries, nothing will be done in the other areas of WI cricket that's suffering, i.e. dung heap.

4) As I've said before, attendances at county cricket is piss-poor. County cricket only survives because of hand-outs from the ECB.

But back to a more relevant point....

mikesiva wrote:'The relevant points are the "professionalisation" of the regional first-class game and the expansion of the season. There will be 90 players under contract, 75 with their individual boards, 15 with the High Performance and A squads. The objective is to ensure that all the players are available for a new tournament of double-round cricket over six months (as opposed to one round concentrated into six weeks at present). It won't come cheap. Pybus estimates the cost of the new plan to be US$2.8 million for staff and players, $750,000 for the expansion of the first-class and one-day competitions, $300,000 for retainers for the A squad. To raise such sums, he believes sponsorship through naming rights of teams could raise $200,000 and naming rights to their stadiums a further $500,000.'

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/co ... 39875.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And in answer to an appeal from the WICB for help....

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/CP ... n_16655732" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will contribute US$360,000 towards the annual retainer contracts for first-class players, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) announced yesterday. The announcement follows a WICB meeting in March which approved a 19-point plan for the professionalisation of first-class cricket in the Caribbean starting next season."

That's a start, but that's just a drop in the bucket...the cost of retaining staff and players has been estimated at US$2.8m. There's still a long way to go for a sport that doesn't attract paying spectators to the four-day game. Will the WICB subsidise the professional four-day structure the way the ECB subsidises the county game?

Colin Benjamin wrote: I agree with Cozier, its ok for us to break up teams for CPL - but i think its a hard sell to break it up for 4-day & 50 overs. National rivalry is sitll a great traditional of west indies cricket history.

The WICB is seeing sense too....

http://www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2014-07 ... wi-cricket" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“While we understand the reasoning for Pybus suggesting that we allow free movement of players amongst the regional team, we are cognisant of the fact that countries want to retain their identity. Pybus made the recommendation after studying the current state of West Indies cricket. The standard of regional cricket is not very high and this has been blamed for the demise of the West Indies team. A further look into the structure of the tournament revealed that it is too short and there is expected to be an expansion of the Regional Four-Day tournament next season. Also, the standard of some of the teams was way too low and this led to many one-sided games which is not good for the tournament. By allowing players that free movement, teams would be beefed up and this would lead to better quality cricket, which would lead to better players coming through for the West Indies team.” The official added: “The idea was discussed by the executive of the WICB, which as you know has representatives from all the territories in the Caribbean and they overwhelmingly objected to this idea. Some of the guys were also saying that with the national identities lost, the already low turnout at First Class games will be even lower and this would work against the game as well. It was a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other. In the end while it was generally agreed that the move would increase the competitiveness and quality of play, the national identities of the countries took precedence.”

Half measure, but considering there will be no change I'm not sure it can even qualify as that.

The WICBC annual report will no doubt have this filed under " Developments in WI cricket ".

If ..." national identities " were the real concern the private entity that is WICBC would tek weh demself to allow national cricket boards to administer national cricket teams.

So if I'm reading this right.

The WICBC create a new position within its ranks.

Pay the newly appointed Pybus an annual salary with arrangements for a report into WI cricket to be drafted.

Pay all associated costs towards the reaserch, travel and presentation of said report.

Have further, all expenses paid, meetings to reject specific items on the grounds of " national interests ".

Now where are those Hilaire comments about " narrow nationalism preventing change in WI cricket ".