THESE are early days yet for judging the impact of the new, enthusiastically heralded West Indies Cricket Board’s Professional Cricket League (PCL). What is certain is that things haven’t gone as planned.

Even before the 90, recently contracted pros, each now potentially earning basic fees of between US$33,500 and US$53,900 a year, could step onto the field, the six franchises baulked at the idea of free movement between teams.

Only two players from the five each franchise was obliged to place into a draft were chosen by coaches and selectors who preferred to keep their squads of 15 exclusively home-based.

read more in the Trinidad Express

Full Story

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

I dont see how seasons of short fc cricket will be sorted within the first season of a new format especially when the first offseason will be the offseason after this one.

pure bs Coz.

In reply to Commie

how more "poor" cricket and it's associated elements will improve standards is way beyond this pea brain of mine.

pitches, umpiring, coaching, etc etc etc

we cussin the symptoms too much and for too long.

btw, was there ever a "plan"

yada yada yada but we cuss about it here aready

there was never a plan/policy to. just yap yap yap

stewps

that is what we have been saying...yuh cussing the symptom. the issue is deeper and simpler

over and out. i could read something new

In reply to Commie

Could not agree more--Its just pure BS from Cozier--Give the League some time--Like our players and organisations in the Caribbean Cozier needs to become professional as well--

In reply to buds



Agree it will take time,perhaps longer than most as it is the West Indies that is involved.It should be given a few years to be fruitful..very fruitful.
That said, I agree with Coz..season should have been January to early May when it serve to keep all players on their toes during the International Home campaigns.

But what the cricket needs is also feeder system above U19 to build on a surer foundation.
What has become of the many U-19s over the years...too many have been lost to the game and the investment made between ages 19-23. That needs to be addressed.

They were expecting overnight change with the same players? That doesnt happen in other sports why would it happen here?

In reply to hubert

I agree that there needs to be a system that prepare players to enter into the PCL--I hope that is the next step and not just from the clubs in the regional territories--I see a plan in shape to take WI cricket to a better place; a more structure professional place-
Off topic: I read where 80% of children are born out of wedlock in JA--How does that help with structure in the Caribbean/JA? Our players are from broken homes with no formal structure and we expect them to adhere to a professional standard that require and demands structure? We are behind the eight ball--This leads into the players lack of discipline etc--Its terrible--

In reply to doosra

I understand your point but we have players who have played 5-6 seasons and have less than 25 games under their belt. Thats crazy. Guys are getting old without playing any real cricket.

If you look at english county cricket, even with a mature product early seasons they have alot of low scores and then as the pitches flatten out the batsmen start to dominate.

In the Caribbean you have a handful of games and then the season is over. When club cricket was very strong this wasnt a problem, but with club cricket taking a beating itself, we need regional cricket and its aftermath to prepare the players better.

Give Pybus a chance to implement his isht rather than shortchanging yet another path and starting all over.

In reply to Commie

Chesney Hughes is a good example. He has played 44 FC Matches in 4 Seasons and this season in particular he was out of the team due to injury/form for most of it.

Cozier is myopic like most West Indians. They expect overnight panaceas for systemic and long term problems. The only thing that I agree with in the article is that the season should have been continuous and the nonexistent marketing of the product. Also what happened to day/night cricket?


Paying the players like professionals is a great incentive for them to work on their game on a full time basis. I maintain this is the way to go forward. I do not expect much to change this season but time is necessary for us to see some results.

In reply to voiceofreason

Cozier is just a reporter. Stirring up controversy is part of the job

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

There is no incentive for free movement

In reply to Baje

Cozier is a journo. He is supposed to analyse.

He isn't a reporter. Thats someone like Barry Wilkinson.

In reply to buds

Is this a new revelation?

It has been that way-that children are born out of wedlock at an alarming rate- for more than 80 years of West Indies cricket yet the region was still able to ascend to great heights in cricket. That is flawed and knee-jerk analyst of what ails our cricket. Despite the unfortunate reality that too many homes are headed by single parents-almost invariably single mothers-cricket was still able to strive.

The question is: what has the WICB-and its constituent associations-done to stimulate and support interest in the game at the grassroots level ie-the schools, the youth clubs,cricket clubs, etc. How much has it invested in these entities and which tournament does it sponsor at the school & club level.

In reply to voiceofreason

to me this is a good example of the problem

44 matches and averages 30

In reply to Commie

we saw similar issues during the 10/11 match regional tournaments some years back. guys started to fade at halfway point. i will wait and see

In reply to doosra

They would because in the offseasons before they were all part timers.

They should get better by year two or three at least.

players not playing enough cricket and a cricket season that changes every year are so need attention ,just paying bad workmen don't improve their work!

In reply to doosra

I think getting a professional salary will enable them to focus more on cricket as a living rather than having to hustle for a living with little time for cricket.

To enhance the reality of this concept, however, the local authorities would have to sponsor more games and hopefully there will be sponsors to promote more competition.

One can only hope that more cricket will eventually enhance the skills and talents,

In reply to anandgb


you also need to pay umps and ground staff to get better quality.

Good thing Cozier started off his article with the above.

Wasn't Cozier call the PCL "historic"

Wasn't Cozier that mek every team pick ALL bar 1 player fom their home territory

It certainly wasn't Cozier that deemed it fit to have near zero marketing of the games to the public

In reply to buds


I just read Jacksprat's response to you on the broken homes/ social situ...I concur.That has never stopped anyone who really wants to succeed evem if a system is non existent. A grand system will howver enhancetheir chances and lead to more successes.

it's really interesting how this system resembles the education issue we face in the region

you can do what you like with the curriculum and the facilities and all of that

but if your foundation is not there, you have to do so much remedial work. in the case of education it means spending valuable resources doing remedial work with writing, mathematics, etc. forget critical thinking for now.

Perhaps if when England imposed it ban on all Overseas Players , those in the governance of Cricket had tried to form a Pro or Semi Pro League , by now perhaps everything would have been running not only smoothly ; but our team & Players would have been more competitive .

Cozier et al have mouth now , but where the Hell were they when England imposed its ban
in the mid 1980's . I don't recall any of them saying a word . I will always state
in this Forum that the Ban by England was aimed mainly at our Players & Team . They
were the best in the world at that juncture . Other Overseas Players were merely collateral damage .

I really don't blame England , if you have
Players from the West Indies harnessing ; enhancing & honing their skills mainly in England ; and then kicking your ass at the International level , I would ban them .

My beef is the fact that those in the governance of Cricket at that time did nothing . They failed to understand the full dynamics of the impact the ban would have not only on our Players & Team , but also on the standard of Cricket in the Region .

WE are going to suffer from that lack of Foresight & Vision for a long time . Why ?
because Tours in those days were much longer than they currently are . This
allowed Players to get acclimatized to
the weather & conditions of the Pitches .In those days Cricket was played before & in between the Test Matches . So that Touring Team Players were very competitive .

ALL that stopped when 3 formats of the game was introduced & at times a Country was hosting 2 International Teams simultaneously . This meant that Players had to be ready to play in a maximum of
4 days . Now when the WICB insists on its 1 week Camp , that aint helping our Players .

In reply to Commie

It is good to see that you are beginning to understand why I hold those in the governance of Cricket in exceedingly low esteem . Also those in the Region who claim to be Sports Journalists .

The fact that there is no real movement of players let the WICB look like a Jumby Crab.
waste of money and time. The local coaches need to be all fired. They do not have the professional mindset. The set out to pick only their local players just to get them in a position to make a pay check rather that thing first about WI cricket. Now all the mediocre players are not performing and there are other players in other Islands are sitting down on the sideline.

The set-up should have two leagues. A development armature along with the pro league.
The development league should consist of our young, young players mix with some vets.

In reply to Stumpoff

Your idea has a lot of merit , but as usual
the powers that be are going to plead Poverty .

How much is the prize money?

In reply to budsI keep repeating, I gave up on Cozier bs since 1981 when we were winning.

How can any reasonable person expect miracles in a system that started with a competition. There was little to no preparation, hence this season cannot be any different than previous years. The PCB will have to be judged from year 2 onward.

Regional cricket in the West Indies has fallen a long long way. Gone are the days when at least 10,000 fans packed Sabina Park, Bourda, Queens's Park Oval and Kensington Oval everyday for Shell Shield matches. Today, 100 fans in the stands is a lot.

In reply to buds

cover fuh your hommies

In reply to Gupta

because the product has been diluted, remember when regional games were between January and April and teams had their best players.

The Cricket Boards need to come up with some creative ideas to get the attendance up for these games. Give out a daily prizes to high school kids, like a used bat from one of the players, give out Tee shirts to some lucky attendees. Those little ideas would not cost them much, but it should encourage some young people to the games.