Legendary West Indian fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts has pointed to a poor work ethic on the part of the region’s batsmen as a major factor in the team’s inability to take a step up to the next level.

Following the promising start but a disastrous end to the tour of England, a lot of discussions surrounding how to improve the team’s performance-focused on increased technological infrastructure around the region.

The typically fiery former pace bowler was, however, quick to point out that such investment is unlikely to make a difference if the attitude and work ethics of the batsmen do not improve.

“Infrastructure will not make you a better player.  You have to make yourself a better player and I don’t think the commitment is there from a lot of West Indies players,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.

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In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

I partly agree with Roberts, but I believe that improve infrastructure is also needed from an earlier stage in the players development.

Roberts know what he is talking about

In reply to methodic

So what can we do about it? I see dayne has a suggestion. Have one?

I agree 100%. Mentally weak players. Been a problem for years now. Basically the same mistakes over and over.

Who is this guy? He is talking lot of sense than most of the WASTEUNDIANS I came across.

He has guts to agree WASTEUNDIES has no talent and cupboard is bare, on top of that all these guys are super lazy and brainless. Hatsoff to the guy for agreeing the facts.

I am so shocked that people would believe the nonsense Andy Roberts is spewing.
Cricket is no longer bat and ball.
Andy benefitted from playing county cricket, and is on radio spewing his nonsense.

he did not say anything like that lol but i do agree with him it's been a issue for a long time these guys just ain't willing to put in the time and effort to improve their craft .

In reply to seaegg99
There are reasons we all left the Caribbean, just think about that.
In order to be a successful athlete structures must be in place.

tell me did gary sobers everton weekes ,frank worrell ,or any west indian play county cricket before playing test cricket,
i hate to hear this nonsence excuse about county cricket like it was a major contibution to why we produced quality cricketers,

In reply to velo
Sir Everton,, played cricket in England during the 50s, Sir Gary played county and Shield cricket.
Barbados at that time had donkey carts on the road, canes was gutted by the humans hands, no highways was built.
You could play cricket in the roads and gullies from morning to night.
All these players came back to clubs, and made players better.

Playing League and County cricket in England assisted in the development of the great players that we produced in the earlier decades. This current group of players are not able to benefit from that for a number of reasons such as the restrictions the ECB placed on overseas players which other countries except the WICB realized and developed their own leagues and competitions (infrastructure). the management on the recent tour of England did an abysmal job which led to blowing the series. Poor team selection, poor captaincy, poor strategy and poor discipline. It was interesting to see England defeat Pakistan yesterday with the runs coming from two players who realized that they had to occupy the crease, build a partnership and the runs would come....we forgot the basics after the first test. Infrastructure cannot be a substitute for Intelligence.

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Jos Buttler successfully corrected his lack of footwork in the middle of the Wisden Test Series.

Meanwhile, several West Indies players were unable or unwilling to correct the same problem.

Some of you don't like Andy Roberts but there is a reason why he is called a legend.

The fact is Jos Buttler has a better work ethic than our West Indies Test batsmen who still don't move their feet.

In reply to Fivestar

How did you know he corrected his footwork?
Tell us what you know of the English players, and the coaching training, they are given, by the ECB?
Andy lose me, by telling Powell his wife could feed the ball machine.
Tell Andy this is part of the modern day cricketer's train.
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In reply to stroke

how come county cricket did not help English players, as Gary himself said , foreign players save English county cricket.

In the 60s , our domestic league was one of the best , maybe second to the Aussie system. Every weekend cricketer that I know who played county or league cricket dominated.
Bye the way, Lara, Shiv, Gayle and Sarwan played limit county cricket.

In reply to openning

This is the truth. Going overseas did enhance our ability to play in different conditions. Still before that we were producing world class players. Right now we only have a small group of players to choose from. How many kids in the ghetto do you see playing cricket in the islands? You can travel the whole island and find no youths playing in the streets, pastures or none of that.

Really and truly KB would not have made it to the professional level in Bim back in the days because his technique was and is lacking. Only those who can really afford the game plays or stays in the game. You can see soccer playing everywhere in Bim on any given day. Skills were refined on makeshift pitches with make shift bats and balls. Techniques to counter these inadequacies made you game better. Just wanting to bat all day because you knew if you get out there was no chance your would bat again. Made you love batting and giving you hand away was not even in the equation. These fellas know next game they still playing so what the hell.

In reply to openning

When Everton played league cricket in the 50s, he was already deem the best batsman in the world, when Sobers played in Aussie land , he was already deem the greatest batsman in the world.

In reply to tc1

Bro, you don't get to be among the top cricketing countries year after year, without having good International players.

In reply to tc1

Truth! He is forgetting that competition in Bim was such that international touring teams could not beat the Barbados teams when they played back in the day.

Haynes, Marshall, Richards, Roberts etc. made the West Indies team without playing in England's county season. Playing in England just gave them different conditions which they adapted to, like they learned early in life to do!

In reply to openning

During the Second Test the commentators showed video of how Jos Buttler's lack of footwork was contributing to his dismissals.

By the way, they also showed how several West Indies batsmen got out because they failed to move their feet.

The England coaching staff took Buttler out on the field before the start of the Third Test.

They had him hit throw downs on the front foot for 30 minutes to correct his footwork.

That same day when Buttler went in to bat his footwork was crisp and he made a fine half century.

In reply to tc1

Both gentleman continued the learning process, as they went along.

In reply to openning

It just helped to refine their games not be the main developer of their games. Look at Archer, his game was developed already now he gets to refine his game.

In reply to Fivestar
Do you know if he spent hours after the first and second test working on the problem?
we see and hear parts and assume 20 minutes corrected a problems, athletes will tell you, it is the number of reps and hours of practice, which correct the problem.
My wife always reminds me, it takes a number of reps to correct bad practice, thats why players need a third competent eye.

In reply to seaegg99

T

Now you getting it It is the lack of community support, I went to Bim 4 years ago and the only person I saw playing cricket was the lil boy and girl at the home I was staying.
We do not have a stong BCL system, When I was very young we had a Police Boy's Club in my area, by the time I entered 1st form , the Boy's club close. The Boys' was a nursery to Maple cricket team.
This is just my opinion, I am not an expert in cricket and have not follow WI to know the issues affect their performances.

In reply to seaegg99

I knew nothing about Jofra, so I cannot comment.
There is a reason he chose England for the West Indies.

We always had good players, and Barbados had a good cricket structure.
WICB failed when ECB refused to offer contracts to our players, hoping that talent is enough, we found out talent is not enough.
I've been against the BCA, adding an Elite division to a poorly organized structure.
I asked Carlyse Best one Saturday why was Roland Holder wicketkeeping in a 1st division game, his response was, thats what our cricket have come to.
The next was my brother calling to tell me, our team Yorkshire has been promoted to 1st division.

In reply to openning

They were the professors, teaching players how to play cricket. Learning is continual process.

Cricket is much more challenging to play now than back in the old days, the amount of analysis of a player's technique that goes on now it takes more work than before to be a good player and if the team do not have good technical support they would find it difficult to succeed.

In reply to tc1

If you had spend some time with Sir Everton like I have, you would understand, cricket was his profession, it was his life line.
Conrad Hunte said it best to me, when I asked him about Gary getting to be captain ahead of him.
He said Gary's life was cricket, and he had prepared well for the challenges, Me on the other hand, is involve with many causes.

In reply to openning


You are missing the point.

Jos Buttler successfully corrected his problem of failing to move his feet.

Do the West Indies batsmen who do not move their feet look like they're addressing the problem?

In reply to Fivestar
I have been advocating for Kraigg Brathwaite to thank his coach, and get a new people around him.
A buddy who had seen him at the U19 level, saw him his first year at the regional level, and was shocked to see the changes in his batting.
He said to me then, his coach should be fired, you dont change a player strength, which was Kraigg Leaside shots, with his strong bottom grip.
This buddy is Antiguan

In reply to openning

All of the West Indies batsmen who don't move their feet should do the following:

(1) acknowledge there is a problem.

(2) seek remedial assistance.

(3) persevere until the problem is solved.

If Jos Buttler and other international cricketers can work to improve their batsmanship why can't our batsmen do the same?

i'm not saying they did not play county cricket but did they play county cricket before they made the wi side.i know he did not play county cricket when he made 365

You guys here are discussing the county cricket exposure and Roberts talking about work ethic.

But consider this; West Indies always had batsmen who excelled in home conditions.

But we dont have them now. Check the home batting averages

Sarwan 3494 @45.37 47 matches

Gayle 3437 @40.91 53 matches

Shiv 6187 @58.36 81 matches

Hooper 2555 @38.13 45 matches

Logie 1243 @37.66 25 matches


Kraigg 1652 @31.76 30 matches

Hope 602 @21.50 15 matches

Hetmyer 431 @25.35 9 matches

Chase 1002 @38.53 17 matches

Campbell 224 @24.88 5 matches

Brooks 63 @15.75 2 matches

Bravo 1339 @26.78 29 matches

Blackwood 707 @39.27 13 matches

Holder 1266 @42.20 22 matches

Dowrich 893 @34.34 17 matches

In reply to analyst-kid
It so difficult to compare career ending stats, to players in the early start of their careers.

Why not compare them to Dwayne Smith, Philo Wallace, Richards Powell, Adrian Griffith, Wavell Hinds, Keith Arthurton and others?

In reply to Fivestar

Keiron Powell answered that question last Tuesday.
In England he practice 5hrs a day, back home he has to ask the government for a place to practice.
All 25 players that was on tour, had better facilities to practice, not only during the, if it was raining, but at night also.
Surely some of the International players, can afford a bowling machine, but the lack of a third eye and a video recorder is pointless.
If Andy Roberts was Tiger Woads or the Williams sister father, the three would still be struggling on their own.

In reply to dayne

I am in total agreement with what You have stated above . The stark freaking fact however , is that it is only
comparatively recently , in terms of years that it finally dawned on the Jokers in the WICBC to form a Regional
Cricket League .

THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE WHEN

ENGLAND DECIDED TO LIMIT THE NUMBER

OF OVERSEAS PLAYERS PLAYING CRICKET

IN ENGLAND .

Make absolutely no mistake that was
a Machiavellian Tactic , designed to
affect the competitiveness of Our Players .

HISTORY INFORMS US ALL THAT IT

WORKED; SO ALSO WERE THE MANY COUNTY

MATCHES THAT WERE PLAYED BETWEEN THE

TEST MATCHES . THAT ALSO WAS MAINLY

AIMED AT OUR PLAYERS .

Those many matches made our Players
acclimatized to both the Pitches & the Weather .

Interestingly when England hatched this Machiavellian Tactic . Those in the WICBC were to Dumb to understand
the affect that would have on the
competitiveness of Our Players .

THEY DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FOR QUITE

SOME TIME . WE ARE STILL SUFFERING

FROM THE GROSS INCOMPETENCE OF THOSE

IN THE WICBC/CWI .

But there many friends in the Media
never ever cite this freaking fact ,
they prefer instead to criticize Our
Players .

This is precisely why I am in favour
of having a Completely new Structure
of Cricket in the Region . About 10 -15 years ago , it Finally dawned on the WICBC that it should have a Regional Cricket League .

However to use a nautical term :

That Boat Sailed Years Ago !!!!!!
It took the Jokers many years to come
to the realization that they should
have a Regional Cricket League .

When the ICC decided to terminate the
many matches that were played between
the Test Matches , that was a warning
to the WICBC/CWI , that also was ignored .

Currently our Players and Team are at
or near the bottom of International
Cricket , so their ability to attract
Sponsors aint good .

It makes no sense to commission Reports of the Structure of West Indies Cricket and then Nothing happens . The Wehby Report will have
the same fate as ALL the Other Reports that were commissioned .

The mainstays of our batting lineup for the past 5 years or so
are:

Kraigg Brathwaite
Shai Hope
Roston Chase
Shane Dowrich
Jason Holder
And recently.....Shamar Brooks and Jermaine Blackwood

Blackwood aside, they were identified as the antidote to the “Prima Donna” attitude that allegedly plagued West Indies cricket. Some of them were groomed for leadership roles within West Indies cricket.

These players were handpicked because of their loyalty, commitment, discipline and dedicated approach to their careers and by extension, West Indies cricket.

Everything I’ve heard about them has been positive. No harder workers at their games than Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope. Nobody puts more time into developing his craft than Roston Chase. They all “want it” it’s been repeatedly reported.

I refuse to believe what Andy Roberts claims that they don’t work hard enough. That doesn’t make any sense given all the reports.

In reply to openning

Andy Roberts needed English county cricket to endorse the enormous talent he already had, before he started to play for Hampshire.

The WICB would have never accepted Roberts, Richards and the other Combined Islands players, had English county cricket not accepted them first. In fact, those players from the Combined Islands who did not get English county endorsement, were never given a chance at the highest level, with a few reluctant exceptions (the Shillingfords, Findlay and Willett).

That problem continues to blight WI cricket, and is manifested by some players given an easy passage into the WI team and not having to work hard to keep such spots. Roberts calls it "poor work ethic", but there is much more to it than Roberts is explicitly referring to.

As usual, when we fans disagree, we start cussin' and mud-slinging, because we are West Indians. Andy Roberts brought WI cricket into its Golden Age. No amount of cussin' will ever change that, or diminish the great man.

In reply to Norm

Fixed it for you.

And even with that, that gives him a lifetime pass when he chat shit?

In reply to velo

Sobers first year of county cricket was about 1967 or 68, he made 365 in 58

In reply to imusic

Typical West Indian. You do not agree, so the other guy "chat shit".

I will take Andy Roberts' word on cricket over yours, or any other board savant's, a million times out of 10, anytime of the day or year. So, you can hang around a message board all you want and talk about the great man "chatting shit".

Andy Roberts talks about something he thinks is preventing progress in WI cricket and you conclude he is "chatting shit". No wonder we are where we are - in deep shit!

And, Andy Roberts ushered in the WI Golden Age. Without him, the Golden Age would have eluded us, thanks to more WI petty insularity.

In reply to Norm

Your assessment above is absolutely Correct . I have been stating what you wrote , since 2003 when I joined this
Forum .

In reply to POINT

Are you aware Andy Roberts is blaming the players?

In reply to openning

Is he? Does "work ethic" come from the players only? And, how do you motivate players when you have a bunch of mediocre types like Kraigg and Shai being immovable from the team, despite mediocre results on their best day?

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

You look at the Indian system, and these kids are out there five, six with pads and gloves and helmets playing hardball cricket. They have access to playing fields, proper ones. Same thing in other large cricketing nations. That shit isn't happening in the Caribbean, and that's why these guys lack the techniques to be more successful. Andy Roberts is a disgruntled old man always talking about, ”back in my day.”

In reply to Darkprince32

He saying since we do not have access to such things you noted, then as in his days, hard work is what is required to be competitive.
As I can bet growing up, English lads certainly had better facilities than there Andy-parts.

BTW Usain Bolt trained on a dirt track. Do you know of any American doing the same?

In reply to Darkprince32

Playing on difficult pitches must make them more brilliant cricketers. But WASTEUNDIES talentless junk is going backward even though playing on difficult wickets.

Now tell me where is the problem? Is it with the players or wickets or board? Its 100% with players as they are not born for cricketing talent they are skunts for life.

If same Indian players practice on the WASTEUNDIES difficult pitches everyday they will become immortals in cricket as they are talented bunch and they can do far better by practicing in difficult situations.

What an asshole!

I now know is more than one pers9n, cause one simaady caan Hignorant suh!

In reply to natty_forever

I don't know if you played cricket in Primary School or secondary school, but I did in the Caribbean, and I can tell you now there was no proper coaching; there wasn't access to all these cricket ground and equipment. It was, it's cricket season let put together a team and go play. I some talent, not saying I was good enough to play Internationally, but if you don't have proper infrastructure and coaching and the like it doesn't matter how much talent you have. And as for Bolt, he didn't just go from dirty tracks to Olympic, did he? He started on dirt tracks; his talents were spotted and developed in Jamaica, a country that has a history of producing sprinter and has the capabilities to do so.

In reply to Norm
Dude, the WICB/CWI teams have been losing with Lara, Shiv, Gayle, Sarwan, Hooper and others, it did not start in 2017/18.
Whether you are playing Football, Cricket, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, Hockey or other sports, to reach the top, you must be supported by a good infrastructure.
If your belief is Sobers, Viv, Clive and others playing 5-6 months a year in county, did not assist them and made them professional, then the last 25/30 years, most of our players did not have work ethics.

In reply to imusic

Monty Penesar was criticized for his bowling to Shane Warne after they insisted that Monty played 40 test matches. However, Warne said no! Monty played one game 40 times due to his lack of adjustments to his bowling. And that's why he was discarded by England.

I think our West Indian players suffer from this syndrome.They do not make adjustments during the game and at practice. Plus the coaches that WI have are not capable of teaching these guys.

Our guys may practice hard but, if you are practicing the wrong thing how do you expect them to succeed?

In reply to buds

Fair point. But that’s on the coaches. ALL OF THEM. Not the players.

And the coaches West Indies have had over the years are not just West Indian. Radford, Desai, Saqlain, Pybus, going back to Bennett King, Dyson etc are not West Indians


However, as much as some may not want to admit, another explanation could be that some of them simply not good enough....no matter how hard they practice or how disciplined they are.

No coach can fix that.

In reply to imusic

Bro, look at he last 25/30 years, and see the few quality players, the region have produced.
It must be the system.

In reply to imusic

Fair point.

However, if you are sending flawed players to play against professionals then our players will certainly fail as we have done over the years. And continue to suffer.
Some of our players are as you said just not good yet are selected.

Andy was right-Lack of planning caused WI to lose the Wisden Trophy.
I will single out Cornwall because Chase was doing a great job so there was no need for Cornwall. WI selectors are not up to the job. They play the insular game constantly.It's endemic. Why select a player just to appease the region that he represents when you know its a bad move?

In reply to dayne

Are you saying that WI infrastructure was better during Roberts days of playing for West Indies? If the answer is no – then how did the West Indies became so dominant during Roberts playing days.

In reply to buds

As others have said, this is a darn good observation. Thanks.

In reply to openning and imusic

Good discussion. We need more of it.

Without attempting to summarize the progress of the discussion here, I would like to offer the following, which is closely related to what preceded.

In Any Roberts' day, he elevated himself to the top of the world of fast bowling, using less resources than the Aussies and English, for example. Players in the more developed countries were already making use of recorded video, exercise equipment, specialized diet, etc, but Andy had only the beaches, local cricket and local fish in Antigua. Still, he found a way to the top, in a time when Antigua cricket received very little support from the WICB.

We have seen comments that, "That was then. Things are different now!", but is that really true?

Today we have a parallel in Jason Holder, who has lifted himself to the top of the world of all-rounders, using nothing but the same resources available to other cricketers in Barbados today. Jason was not "polished" or otherwise developed by foreign resources by playing in foreign leagues, etc.

Andy Roberts' comment about "work ethic" should be viewed in this context. If Jason Holder could climb to the top of the world using nothing but Caribbean resources, why haven't other WI players similarly excelled too?

A related question is, could CWI truly improve WI cricket, assuming that we have everything necessary, or is it dependent only on individual effort?

In reply to openning
Could you please tell your West Indian so-called cricketers that cricket is not just bat and ball? Could you please tell them that some brain work is involved? But, what's the point, these brainless, dodo heads wouldn't even understand you anyway.

In reply to Norm

Jason like the league T20 stars, plays county cricket when available.
Full name Jason Omar Holder


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BTW, Kraigg Brathwaite scored a ton in his last county match, last year.

In reply to openning

So, did Jason become top Test all-rounder because of foreign resources, or not?

The ultimate question in all of this is, is the Caribbean capable of producing world class cricketers using local resources only?

In reply to Norm
Jason may have benefitted from CCC and it indoor facilities, and the Sir Everton centre of Excellence.
He also has been playing plenty cricket around the world.

If Jamaica can produce the best sprinters in the world, CWI can do the same.
I've been writing about the BCA devaluing our great product for a long time.

In reply to openning

So, was he a product of Caribbean resources predominantly?

And, if he was, then shouldn't others be able to emulate Jason Holder's success?

In reply to openning

I agree, 1000 percent. The Caribbean is capable of producing world class sportsmen using local resources only.

We have to begin with this premise if our discussions here are to be meaningful. We cannot go back and forth about this and get anywhere.

(Note that this does not deny that our players could benefit from playing in foreign leagues, but it is not a truly necessary ingredient for them to become world class players.)

In reply to Norm
I just dont think it is achievable like it was in the fifties.
I've been discussion this with Point for over 20 years, him comparing Kenroy Peters achievement at the U19 WC, to the development of Jimmy Anderson.
I read many comments today, Viv blaming the board for the decline.

In reply to openning

If that were true, then we should accept our mediocrity and stop criticizing the players and CWI.

Viv and Andy obviously do not accept that West Indians are capable only of mediocrity without foreign help. I too do not accept that. Jason Holder is my proof.

In reply to Norm

I just dont think it is achievable like it was in the fifties, until infrastructures are put in place.
Every Island must be equip with the necessary tools, to make the cricketer better equip.

In reply to Norm
I saw what Australia did with its sports program, after a bad showing at the 1976 Olympics.
Have a read of Australia Institute of sports.

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It would be great also if Players are
always going to be selected on MERIT. The freaking Truth is that has not always been the case .

Many people fail to realize that the
first Black Player in the Region to play Cricket in Emgland was :

CHARLES AUGUSTUS OLLIVIERRE

Ollivierre , lived near to the Victoria Park in Kingstown ,St.Vincent , and he ,his brothers
and their friends used to play in the
Park everyday .

The man who was the Caretaker of the
Park knew them , and allowed them to
play Cricket in the Park .

The Caretaker of the Park , accepted
the job to be the Caretaker of Queen's Park in Trinidad , when it was decided to take a Team of Players
to represent the Region in the first
Tour to England , by Players from the
Region .

The Caretaker mentioned Charles Ollivierre name to them , and so he
went to Trinidad , and he was selected to go on the Tour .

He never returned to Saint Vincent ,
and was the first Black Cricketer to
play County Cricket . He was very popular , and was affectionately called :" King Charlie "

This is precisely why I have stated i
in this Forum , some time ago ,that the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground should
be renamed :

THE CHARLES OLLIVIERRE CRICKET GROUND

I believe that the current Vice President of the CWI , is from SVG ,
perhaps He could make that happen .

King Charlie , as he was called , in
Derbyshire , where he was Celebrated
for his exploits in Cricket .

In reply to POINT
What wrong with naming it after Mike Findlay, Ian Allen or Winston Davis?
Apart from being born in SVG, did he played any match in the Windward Islands?

In reply to openning

The Caribbean needs an Institute of Sport too. I won't be surprised if there is one in Cuba.

In reply to Norm

There is now a faculty at UTECH in Jamaica. One step?

In reply to natty_forever

A significant step, I would say. Here is the school's online presence.

In reply to Norm

Not only sports, but culture.
My latin dance teacher attended, Cuba National school of arts.

In reply to openning

FYI CHARLES AGUSTUS OLLIVIERRE WAS

THE FIRST BLACK CRICKETER IN THE

REGION TO REPRESENT THE WEST INDIES , I

IN ENGLAND .

In Barbados , there is a Statue of Lord
Nelson , however HE was not a Barbadian
I simply want Vincentians to honour a
man who was born in St. Vincent , and
was the first Black Player from the
Region to play Cricket in England .

Perhaps , just perhaps , that may rekindle , and inspire Youngsters in SVG to Play Cricket . I get the impression that You prefer to be dismissive of the fact that Charles Ollivierre was the first Black Player
from the Region to Play Cricket in
England .

I am very sure that if he was from Barbados You would not be as dismissive as you are regarding the
fact that he was the first Black Cricketer to play Cricket in England.

In reply to POINT
[quote]I am very sure that if he was from Barbados You would not be as dismissive as you are regarding the
Point I have no idea of the first Barbadian or West Indian that played cricket in England, Laurie Constantine I am familiar with, he actually played for the West Indies.
Point I happened to be born in Barbados, but I would not come on this board to promote a cricketer, because he was born in Barbados, and have no historical benefit to West Indies or Barbados cricket.
But I do know you want the first Vincentian, that immigrated to England and played county cricket, the Stadium to be name after.
Point look at the man's average, he is know George Headley.
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In reply to openning

There were challenges that the early WI pioneers in English cricket faced that were unique to that time, and which probably affected their stats.

Among the challenges was that open racism and class prejudice were acceptable in England and the British Empire back then. Not long ago, someone posted a link here to an article that spoke of the racist abuse of Constantine by a white South African teammate.

The fact that these pioneers handled themselves and such adverse social factors creditably back then, is demonstrated by the large numbers of West Indian players that followed them to England.

In reply to Norm

Charles Ollivierre , in his playing days was popular in Derbyshire , and was affectionally called by the People
" King Charlie ".

In his later years his eyesight was not as good as it used to be . I personally
believe that he should be honoured by
the Country where he was born .

This is why I would like the Government & People of St. Vincent &
the Grenadines , honour him , by naming the Stadium at Arnos Vale the
Charles Agustus Ollivierre Stadium .

The Victoria Park is stll a Park in Kingstown , which is very near to where he lived , and learned to play
Cricket .

In reply to openning
The difference between Sobers, Viv, Lloyd etc and the current crop is that Sobers, Viv, Lloyd etc have brains. The current crop have crap for brains.