West Indies Career Opportunities

West Indies cricket is a historical institution of biblical proportions. Unfortunately, for over ten years, we have seen a significant decline in the fortunes of West Indies cricket. Currently the West Indies team is undergoing a rebuilding process, we the fans of West Indies cricket are looking for young self motivated and focused cricketers to join our team as players. The job will involve considerable personal sacrifice and those cricketers who are not prepared to give 110% to West Indies cricket on and off the field need not apply.

The players selected will be fully accountable to the fans of West Indies cricket. The players chosen will be expected to follow the proceedings in the West Indies press (TV/ Internet/ radio/ print press) in order to get a sense of public appreciation, or lack thereof, for their respective performances.

Duties will include:

After a brief probationary period you would be expected to perform at a consistently above-average level for the task for which you have been selected (employed).

Attributes sought are:

1. Highly motivated: You as a player are expected to be self-driven and you must be willing to practice long and hard hours with the ultimate aim being to improve your productivity on the cricket field.

2. Mentally tough: You must appreciate that cricket has become a mind game and you must clearly show that you have the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time.

3. Respectful of authority: You must follow the team rules at all times. Exemplary conduct and decorum is expected while representing the West Indies. There is a policy of zero tolerance for cricketers that are trouble makers.

4. Passionate about West Indies cricket: This will be assessed by determining your grasp of the rich history of West Indies cricket. You should be able to articulate the importance of your role in carrying on the torch of the rich history of West Indies cricket. Once medically cleared, and once selected, you are to play for the West Indies in spite of minor injury.

5. Capable of listening, learning and improving: The ?ideal team player? must always be willing to listen and learn from the ?elders? of the game. In other words you must be coach-able. You must clearly demonstrate, by way of deed, that you have the capacity to learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others.

6. Considerate of team-mates: You must get on well with others or at least demonstrate that you are comfortable around others ? inclusive of fellow players, manager, captain, fans, trainers, therapist, team physician, WICB personnel, etc. You are expected to lend help and share advice with other team mates. You should be sensitive, at all times, re the differences (i.e. national, religious, ethnic, racial, etc.) that permeate West Indies cricket. You are expected to sacrifice personal considerations for the greater welfare of the team.

7. Always strive for self-improvement: You must be willing to work at maintaining your fitness even when away from the game of cricket. Willing to work at all aspects (e.g. education) of your life on and off the cricket field.

8. Community spirited: You must be willing to return something to the community by sharing your knowledge and expertise with young West Indian cricketers.

9. Other: You must be willing to accept responsibility for your actions at all times. You are expected to be proud yet humble, confident yet not conceited re your role in West Indies cricket. Your employers reserves the right to have you tested for alcohol and illicit drugs while representing the West Indies.

Qualifications:

1. Talented: While this is an important attribute it is only one of the many facets of your persona that would be taken into consideration, and closely scrutinised, when your application is being processed.

2. Represented a National Team: To be considered for West Indies selection the prospective candidate must have represented, within the previous year, one of the national teams that make up West Indies cricket.

3. Fitness: You must undergo and pass a pre-selection fitness test. Further fitness tests will be conducted at the discretion of your employer. These fitness tests will be conducted by an appointed and qualified professional.

Remuneration package:

Salary will be commensurate with your qualifications and will form part of the remuneration package. Additional benefits will include a performance based incentive, an educational grant, a life and medical insurance plan and a contributory/ non-contributory pension plan.

Handwritten applications, accompanied by two character references, must be sent to: Chairman of Armchair Selectors, CaribbeanCricket.Com. Unsuitable and illegible applications will not be acknowledged.

------- END OF APPLICATION --------

Footnotes for onlookers:

It is important that all cricketers recognise that the joint effort of each member of the cricket team is by far greater than the sum total of each individual's performances. Hence, it is important for each member of the West Indies cricket team to give their personal best every time that they walk onto a cricket field donning the celebrated maroon colours. And while it is only human for our cricketers to seek individual attention and accolades this must never take precedent over a common West Indies team objective.

Let us for a moment picture two imaginary scales, each numerically labelled from 0 to 100. Scale A is the talent scale while scale B is our positive attributes scale. What would you rather have a cricketer (Cricketer I) whose talent may be a 90 out of a possible 100 on scale A while having a 40 out of a 100, re positive attributes on scale B? Or would you chose a player (Cricketer II) whose talent may only rank as a 70 out of a possible 100 while his mark re positive attributes ranks at 80 out of a possible 100?

While talent must be taken into consideration during the selection process, talent must be at least complimented, by other non-cricketing qualities in order for any given player to gain selection to the West Indies team. It makes absolutely no sense selecting a very talented cricketer who is very disruptive to the overall chemistry of the West Indies team.

Observing the modus operandi of the successive generations of the West Indies' cricket team's selectors over the last 12 to 15 years, talent seems to be the primary and sometimes the only criteria that is used in the West Indies team selection process.

The time may be ripe for the WICB to employ the services of a company who would be responsible for interviewing and collecting data re the work ethic and the non-cricketing attributes of potential West Indies selectees prior to their selection to future West Indies teams. Such services are already being utilized by a number of corporate entities throughout the length and breadth of the region in order to weed out the sheep from the goats. It is time for West Indies? cricket to move into the 21st century.