Ten Questions for Zorol Barthley

This year's unsponsored regional one-day competition has been hailed as one of the more exciting in recent memory. Competitive games and major upsets were the order of the day but, overall, the quality and standard of cricket was nothing to write home about.

In this interview, the West Indies Cricket Board's chief cricket operations officer (CCOO) Zorol Barthley dissects the tournament and addresses some of the problems at the territorial level...

1. In the recent one-day tournament, we had a lot of exciting games but overall, there were questions about the quality of the cricket. The convenor of selectors (Joey Carew) even talked about poor pitches in Guyana. Why is this a recurring problem, year after year?

I think the overall state of facilities has actually improved over the years. We're getting there slowly but it's not going to happen overnight when it comes to preparing wickets. It might be happening slower than you would like but I think we've seen improvements.

And I'm not only talking about the state of pitches around the region. I'm talking about the state of the outfield, the pavilion and hotel facilities in the area. I'm talking about general facilities for the players and the media. Traditionally, in Guyana and Trinidad, the wickets have been low and slow but everyone's aware of the standards we are looking for and I think everyone's working to improve their facilities.

For those venues that are not up to scratch, they won't get on the itinerary. It's going to be that simple. If you can't get your grounds and overall facilities in order, you won't get on the itinerary. When the schedule comes out for the Carib Cup, some familiar grounds may not be there. That's the only way to make sure we don't keep having the same problems, year after year.

2. We had a situation this year where Trinidad & Tobago turned up for practice the day before the finals (in Barbados) and found that the pitch and outfield were not prepared. So the problem goes beyond just match venues...

That was a very disappointing and embarrassing situation. I was in Barbados when this took place and there's no two ways about it. It was unsatisfactory and I've been in touch with the BCA [Barbados Cricket Association]. It's a BCA call and they messed it up. Omar Khan [the T&T manager] will submit a formal report and I've asked the BCA to provide a report as well. This is something that should never happen at this level.

The communication went out to the liaison officers to have practice facilities prepared for both semi-finalists. Guyana opted not to practice on the Saturday but Trinidad & Tobago turned up at the ground and could not practice. They called me from the ground and we tried to get it sorted out. Like I said, this should not be happening and we're investigating it to make sure it won't happen again. We will deal with it internally once the reports are in.

3. Overall, were you satisfied with the cricket on display during the tournament?

Generally, we were satisfied. We saw a very competitive tournament with a lot of upsets. We saw the crowds come out in Guyana and they enjoyed the games. The scores throughout were low but I watched most of the tournament and I can tell you that the players competed hard. What I saw coming out was a sense of our players fighting back from collapses, consolidating and giving us close finishes.

We also saw some guys graduating from the Under-19 level and coming through to the senior level for the first time. And they did very well, which is something we should be proud of. A lot of junior players got the opportunity and made use of it.

4. How much did the absence of the big stars (Lara, Sarwan, Bravo, etc.) hurt the tournament?

When you lose quality players, obviously it has an effect on the quality of the game. But, on the competive side, maybe we didn't lose much. There were a lot of games that went into the final overs and were very exciting for the fans. In Berbice, when Guyana played Trinidad, we had about 10,000 spectators. Maybe if Lara, Dillon and Sarwan were there, we might have had a few thousand more but it's not often you get 10,000 spectators at a regional match.

I'm not going to sit here and say the absence of those players didn't hurt the tournament. But, on the flip side, it gave openings to other youngsters who would not have gotten a break. Gave some of the younger players a chance to get a knock and get some valuable experience.

5. Speaking of younger players getting a chance, is the WICB ever going to implement freedom of movement for players? Why can't a player who doesn't make his national side go to play for another country?

We'll see that sooner rather than later. It might not happen as early as the Carib Cup but it could happen as early as 2005. Bear in mind that in 2005 we'll have an extended season. Freedom of movement for players is inevitable. In the Caribbean, we're the only place that select teams along territorial lines. In all other first class cricket around the world, they allow players to move around. We're moving to that pretty soon.

Obviously, it has to go through the board but I can tell you it's been in discussion. Many papers have been written and thoroughly fleshed out. It's a back and forth process. At the end of the day, it's about working out something that's practical. Player movement comes with some issues like travel and accomodation and those are things that have to be budgeted. We're at the stage where we're basically fine-tuning it before implementing.

6. How much did the lack of a sponsor upset the WICB plans this year? I know the board has tried to pin the blame for the shortened tournament entirely on the hurricane...

From the outset, once we started looking for two venues, we went out to the territories and started looking for the best available grounds. Guyana told us October was the best month for them because that's their dry season so they became an obvious choice. Trinidad said they were expecting bad weather and I can tell you that Antigua was also another poor choice in October because we had a lot of rain and one of the main grounds (Stanford/Airport) was shut down for maintenance.

Grenada was very willing to host one leg. They had four or five venues available and, having hosted the Under-19 tournament already, Grenada was attractive. So, we went for Guyana and Grenada.

Barbados had a situation where they had a domestic tournament being completed and it would have been tough for them to host a round. They said they could do the Final Four. We decided that Jamaica would be a last resort because the tournament had been held there for all those years and this was an opportunity to play the games in the other territories.

Didn't the hurricane then put you in a 'last resort' scenario?

Yes, the hurricane put us there but other factors came into play at the time. We did not have a sponsor and we had to fund the tournament ourselves. In the final analysis, having to underwrite it ourselves was always going to be tough to do two rounds.

7. What can you tell me about the plans for Carib Cup this year?

We're definitely going to have an extended season this year. The tournament starts on January 7th. There will be two rounds, home and away for each territory. The top two teams will advance to the final. We won't have semi-finals this year, just two teams playing a straight final.

8. That means the players on tour with the West Indies team will miss a chunk of the tournament...

Yes, the guys on the tour of Australia will miss the first half of the tournament. They'll miss the first five rounds (games). That provides another opportunity for the younger players to make the step up to the first class level.

9. The convenor of selectors [Joey Carew] has complained that the panel is in the dark about preparations plans for tri-nation ODI series in Australia. What's the story there?

We will have a three-week camp starting on November 29. The new coach [Bennett King] will be in charge of that. It will be a three-week camp before the team leaves at the end of the year.

The camp will be held in a Caribbean country but we haven't identified the venue yet. A few scenarios are being discussed. We had some problems in Bermuda ahead of the ICC Trophy so we're going in a new direction. We have a new management team with a new impetus so we're putting it all together starting off with this camp.

10. We're told the retainer contract for players is coming. It's been coming for two years. Everytime someone talks about it, we hear it's close to completion. What's taking so long?

Like any negotiation, it's a to-and-fro process. There have been strong discussions between WIPA [West Indies Players' Association] and the WICB. The process is ongoing and it's taking time because we want to make sure we do it right the first time. We can't afford to get this wrong because there's so much at stake.

It remains a work in progress and I can tell you truthfully that we are in the final stages of all-inclusive negotiations.