Q&A: Women's Coach Ann Brown-John

(Trinidad Guardian)

The West Indies Women?s cricket team has qualified for the 2005 Women?s World Cup in South Africa. However, with just months to go, problems confront the queens of the regional game.

Coach Ann Browne-John, who is the women's representative on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is however optimistic that the team will take its place in the tournament, despite the financial problems with which it is faced. In this interview, she discusses the challenges facing the women's game in the West Indies.

I am almost certain that we are going to South Africa. The Caribbean people would not allow us to miss this opportunity and they are going to come up with the necessary funds. However, we need to see some significant improvements in the finance column by the end of the year because we have to start making down payments on the airline tickets. Having said this I think we would get there.

Q: Has the West Indies Women?s Cricket Board of Control (WIWCBC) contacted the main corporate bodies in T&T and the Caribbean. And what has been the response?

We have contacted several corporate bodies around the region and the response has been negative. Most of them are telling us that they have already made their budgets and can?t help.

Q: Have you contacted Caricom to help?

Yes, we have contacted Caricom but we have gotten no reply. Firstly we wrote to one section and they told us to write to another and up until now we have not gotten a reply.

Q: What about the government of T&T? Have they shown an interest to lend a hand?

The government has always been supportive and I am optimistic that we would again get help from them. However, they cannot pay the entire bill and we have to look elsewhere to get assistance.

Q: In the past, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has helped. Are they assisting in this bid?

They have already assisted with the camp in Trinidad. I am not sure what else they would help us with.

Q: What is the total cost of participating in the World Cup?

The total cost, including camps and build-up, is US$215,000.

Q: Do you think enough has been done to get the Caribbean public aware about our women playing in the World Cup?

I think a lot has been done. Everywhere people meet me they talk of the World Cup, so the Caribbean is aware. Also with the financial troubles surrounding us at present, we have gained a lot of mileage in the press.

Q: The last time the team featured in a World Cup was in 1997 in India and you were the captain. How much did that effort cost the Board and how was funding sourced?

I am not privy to that information, but what I can tell you is that in 1997, the respective Caribbean countries had to fund their own players for the tour.

Q: Can?t you all use this same idea to solve the current problem?

We have come a long way since then as a Regional Board and we have one team WEST INDIES. We don?t want to segregate and say well five from Trinidad you see about yourselves and five from another country take care of yourselves. This is a Caribbean team and we have to act with that in mind.

Q: What is the best placing the West Indies team has secured in the history of World Cup?

The best placing we have achieved in World Cup is 5th in 1993 in England.

Q: How do you compare this current crop of cricketers with the ones with whom you played in previous World Cups?

This current lot is definitely better prepared and there is a simple reason for this - exposure. They have been exposed to international cricket a lot more. In my time we went out every four years to play and we realized that this was not enough to be competitive at the top. What we have done for this team is to engage them in series against Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. English club Lancashire also made a trip to the Caribbean.

Q: How difficult is it to prepare these girls for such a tough competition?

Very Difficult! They come from different parts of the region and to get them together to forge cohesiveness within the team is difficult due to unavailable finance.

Q: Since Gayle Daniel-Worrell took over the leadership of the T&T Women?s Cricket Board, the game has really taken off here. How do you compare the local girls with those in the Caribbean?

I would not really like to compare the girls but I would like to voice my opinion on the state of the game in T&T. It has developed a lot under Gayle and the other very good administrators involved. We have taken the game into the schools and this has been a major breakthrough. We have an abundance of youth playing now and this is great for the future of cricket in T&T.

Q: How wide is the gap between the West Indian girls and the other teams?

It is difficult to assess that because we don?t play them on a regular basis. Recently we lost to India and defeated Pakistan but Australia, England, New Zealand and India are really top class and we have not had a chance to test ourselves against them.

Q: Currently all energies are channeled into the World Cup but what are you all putting in place for beyond that. The top teams engage in Test series on a regular basis, will we see the West Indies Women enter the Test cricket fray soon?

This again is subject to funding. We need to be playing Test cricket but this is costly and until we can get sponsorship we cannot enter this level.

Q: If everything is put is place, how do you think they would perform in the tournament?

Once we do our preparation work, we will do well in South Africa. From the way I see it, once the girls settle we can advance in the tournament.