In The Papers Today (Oct 19, 2005)

West Indies Cricket Board chief executive Roger Brathwaite has been lying low, avoiding the headlines since the revelations of the Lucky report were leaked, er, released, but has broken his apparent public silence by coming out to praise the Windward Islands Cricket Board for a strategic planning session held in St Vincent last Sunday.

Why wouldn?t he be all smiles when one of the items on the meeting?s agenda was the "complex issue of planning and financing the WICB and its future operations".

As reported in the Jamaica Observer, the session was attended by 30 representatives across all levels of Windward Islands cricket including Lennox John, Mike Findlay and newly appointed Cricket World Cup 2007 director Ken Boyea.

Also appearing in the Observer is news that Sherwin Ganga bagged seven wickets on the final day of a three-day match played by contenders for Trinidad & Tobago?s Carib Cup squad.

The Trinidad Guardian carries an article conveying well-wishes from Digicel as the West Indies squad departed for Australia. It reads more like a free advertisement for the team sponsors however, with an overdose of their cricket-related products swamping the actual message the article should have communicated, given its headline.

That was: ?We are delighted that everyone is available for this series. There is a buzz of excitement and anticipation around this tour that will, hopefully, see Windies cricket making headlines?, and it came from Ben Atherton.

It seems the sponsor hasn?t been paying attention to the papers since ? well ? 1995, as West Indies cricket is always in the headlines. Only, usually for all the wrong reasons!

The paper also reports that an under-23 women?s tournament will be held in Trinidad in December, an initiative confirmed when the WICB Cricket Committee for Women met on October 1st.

In the Trinidad Express, Rickey Singh writes that Prime Ministers Kenny Anthony, Owen Arthur and Keith Mitchell, of St Lucia, Barbados and Grenada respectively, will finally meet on November 4th to examine the problems affecting West Indies cricket.

A myriad of issues are slated for discussion at the meeting, including the contract dispute, the Lucky Report, the recent appointment of new Cricket World Cup 2007 directors and the Stanford 20/20 competition.

Michael Da Silva of the Stabroek News reports that the four day Inter-County cricket competition gets underway at Guyana?s Enmore Community Centre ground on Wednesday. Demerara and Eseequibo face off in the first match of the tournament.

Former West Indies fast bowler Reon King will lead the Demerara side which also features Ryan Ramdass, Krishna Arjune, Lennox Cush and Travis Dowlin. Coach Orin Bailey and manager Robert Adonis are confident of Demerara?s chances.

Still in Guyana, the Kaiteur News has finally published Sean Devers' piece on Guyana?s KFC Cup final win.

In the Barbados Nation, Philip Spooner discusses the spoils that will go to the winners of the Hong Kong Sixes tournament which features a West Indies side for the first time since 1997. Prize money of US$280,000 is up for grabs with US$200,000 of that going to the winning team.

'Sixes' captain Sylvester Joseph left Barbados on Tuesday along with his team mates and manager Zorol Barthley. The West Indies, who won the competition in 1996, are drawn in Pool 2 alongside Pakistan, India and South Africa.

Ezra Stuart reveals that a primary school in St Peter, Barbados is dedicating an entire term to cricket with the aim of encouraging concentration levels amongst students, as well as developing cricketers who think critically.

According to Grace Gill, the teacher coordinating the program, the concept will benefit the students in the short term and Barbados and West Indies cricket in the long term.

In her Firefly column, Vaneisa Baksh draws another comparison between R Allen Stanford, the man who is bankrolling the first ever West Indies 20/20 tournament, and Australian Kerry Packer, who was behind World Series Cricket.

Baksh calls upon the writings of Jeffrey Stollmeyer when highlighting the problems that are envisaged as long as the West Indies Cricket Board are left out of the planning and decision making processes in the lead up to the 2006 competition. She also studies the lack of accountability within the Board, making a poignant comment that it seems to confuse media management with transparency.

The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation reports that Brian Lara has jumped one spot in the ICC Test batting rankings. Lara is now at equal second place with Ricky Ponting whilst Jacques Kallis reigns at number one.

Fazeer Mohammed is back in the regional papers with an article from Australia that covers an allegation from MCC President Robin Marlar.

Following the ICC Super Series Test match, Marlar accused Australians Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath of infringing upon the spirit of the game with excessive appealing. Speaking about the introduction of LBW referrals shortly after the Aussies wrapped up the Test match, the MCC boss said Warne and McGrath were seen glaring at the umpires as if daring them to refer questionable leg-before decisions.