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It's time for a West Indies FIRST policy to be implemented. I don't know what rules can be implemented, but we need a rule that states IF you play first class cricket, then you can ONLY go an play in T20 leagues with the explicit permission of the WICB.

Players should not be given NOCs to go an play simply because they are not contracted - because all this is doing is encouraging the younger players to focus on becoming T20 league players

I know this is most likely against all legal players rights, etc - but we need to do something so that the route to player success is through dedication to West Indies cricket

The WICB and the ICC need to get's is tail in gear as well - stop allowing India to rule the cricket world and put rules in place that state you can't "steal" other countries best players so easily.

I know, it's a rant with a lot of not so well thought out points - but all I am trying to say, is we need to get the up and coming players focused on playing cricket for the West Indies - Not trying to make a T20 name for themeselves

I really don't understand why every other cricketing nation is getting better (Afghanistan and Ireland included) and we seem to be getting worst

In reply to laynew

One reason why what you are proposing would not happen is because the CWI cannot pay these players to stay with the " WI First Policy ". Many other cricket Nations compensate their players well.

In reply to laynew

In reply to laynew

Ohhhhhhhhhh.....yuh finally admitting the best players in the caribbean are playing in the ipl.......After years of allyuh calling de boys mercenaries, selfish, the ipl mickey mouse cricket. Here's what, since 2017, the IPL has been part of the ICC's calendar, meaning that there is no international cricket going on during the tournament. That means, for 2017, 2018, and 2019, including the world cup in 2019, The West Indies could have fielded a team with pollard, bravo(s), gayle, samuels etc. Instead of the team that went with carlos brathwaite, ashley nurse, fabian allen etc. The team that lost 7 out of 9 matches. Covid is prevalent in bangladesh compared to the caribbean, they at least had an excuse

In reply to Jumpstart

Our best players will always be wanted....especially by the IPL. And it may be too late for the current players, but the policy for new players should be "Test Cricket First"

In reply to dayne

Well, the WICB pays what they can....if you decide to play first class cricket at a young age and progress to the West Indies Team - you know what you are being paid and you will know that in order to make money, West Indies cricket will have to prosper.

Today, players know that to make money - they go play for the IPL

I know the WICB can't compete with the likes of other boards, but players who play for the West Indies make a relatively good living and we need players who are WANT to play and are PROUD to play for West Indies - Other teams like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Ireland don't have the resources / money - but no way are they as pitiful as we are

I don't have the answers....but either change or become a T20 shop front. See how long that lasts when these current players retire

In reply to laynew

So why were bravo and pollard put on a reserves world cup squad?

Look at the names on the reserve squad

The west indies is not interested in picking a full strength squad........they have proven that since the picked sammy and purged the team of its best players so he would have some semblance of authority. It is only because sammy was a genial, humble dude and well liked even by the stars that he was able to get the team to play for him. The 2019 CWC was the second time in a row the west indies fielded a second string side

In reply to laynew

well then what is the purpose of being a professional cricketer in the west indies? When lloyd and co went to WSC, were they not rebelling against what the board could pay? And the WICB has more money now than it had in those days.

The WI beat england(away), pakistan at home and australia at home in three years and won the CWC in 1979. You ever read Lloyd's autobiography? You know how much lloyd was offered by clyde walcott after winning the world cup in 79? 50 pounds sterling. He said it made him want to cry. Miss me with that rubbish

In reply to laynew

Listen. Just because you love test cricket does not mean every cricketer that comes up have to love it as well. T20 cricket is the most profitable avenue for West Indian cricketers to take so it is something more and more will want to play. Imagine a guy like Kevon Cooper made a good chunk of change in T20s. If he did the West Indies first policy he would be struggling to have earned anything.

Capitalism and free market dictates Supply goes to where the price is best. As much as you hate the idea West Indies will keep losing their best players if they keep the rules on First Class etc.

In reply to laynew
With the present state of cricket in the West Indies, it does not matter. The lack of quality is evident even to Stevie Wonder. The cupboard is empty. Our players lack the basic technique to even play at a third class level.
We have to fix the problems at the school level and then have a development programme through Under 17, Under 19, A Team and then West Indies.
We are tossing any and everybody into the mix and they do not have the basic skill. What do we expect to happen?

CWI needs a trumplike figure to get it back to greatness.

In reply to cricketest

or to kill it and start over like Shiva's creative destruction. Cameron was the man. Unfortunately the BCCI had mercy on us otherwise we would have had a new cricketing structure by now. To quote my PM " bankruptcy would have been best for WICB?

In reply to laynew

I say mirror India.

In reply to Jabari18

Well to be honest, if something doesn't change and out techniques and skills improve all round - it won't be long before hardly any of our players will get T20 deals.

You can't forego technique - soon T20 will become more than just a swing and miss game, technique will come in to it more and more

Look at the Indians, New Zealanders, English and Aussies - a lot of their top T20 players are also very good Test and first class players.

Without skills and technique - ultimately we are cutting our own throats. Pooran is the only player who has emerged recently and can get a regular T20 gig!!!

In reply to laynew

uh.....because they pick their best players no matter the format. They do not pigeonhole cricketers like the WI. Ammit Jaggurnath was knocking on the WI doors for years, since he was a teenager and he only got picked for one test versus australia while benn, an inferior spinner, got picked for several test series for the WI. Pollard on more than one occasion expressed his interests in playing tests but he was categorized as a t20 basher.

Link Text
that is is quote from pollard on cricinfo. And pollard technically is better than brathwaite(who is a poor man's crabby), campbell(who has no technique)O, ambris and C brathwaite. All these guys mentioned have played test cricket for the WI and have failed. Brathwaite (k) has not averaged more than 40 per year since 2016. And you telling me these guys earned their spots....as i said....high class rubbish. just insular west indians happy their island could get a forward despite how incompetent the players actually are

In reply to Jumpstart
Guys have a look at these stats.
Link Text

In reply to openning

Point falls flat because nobody respects the WI first class set up. If Pollard faces five overs every match from the likes of cummins, narine, oshane, lockie ferguson, he's facing more quality than he will face in an entire super 50 or first class tournament

In reply to Cricketest

We had a Trump like figure but he was too toxic and had to be discarded.

We don't need bully tactics to turn things around just good leadership.

Once again I feel a mentorship program whereby the experienced ex players help the present players would be beneficial.

In reply to Jumpstart

So you really think Polly and Big Bravo should have been in that 2019 WC team? What did they do in the Super50 that preceded the WC to merit selection?

Walco.......Pollard and Bravo played in the IPL against the likes of shami, cummins, starc, siraj, saini, bumrah, ferguson( we saw how he terrorized tge super 50 players) and the like and you are saying that they could not make the team due to not playing well in the Super 50?

In reply to Jumpstart
You actually believe Pollard or anyone who has not played the longer version in years, can compete with players, who plays all formats?
I remember a few years back, Narine and Russell wanted to play in the Regional Super 50, before being selected to the ODI team.

In reply to Jumpstart
The board has made it clear that performance in local competitions weighs heavily in the selection process. You are arguing that Pollard and Bravo should’ve been selected based on reputation even though shit up the place in the Super50. If, as you claim, they faced the best boulders in the world in the IPL, then they should have dominated the Super50 blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs, no?

For years those guys would ignore West Indies cricket and show up and play in the Super50 just before a World Cup. In other words, they were only interested in West Indies cricket when World Cup money was up for grabs. That strategy didn’t work this time because they failed miserably in the Super50 tournament. Selection should be based on performance not reputation.

In reply to Walco

It is exactly that rigidity that has us in the mess we are in. Desmond Haynes went to play a season of cricket in SA and was barred from selection for the 1995 Frank Worrell trophy, to be replaced by the two highest scorrers in the FC season that year: Stuart Williams ad Sherwin campbell who were both back in the pavillion before the first over was completed. I guess it worked then right

In reply to laynew

They make a relatively good living compared to a tyre changer in Antigua. However, drug dealers who bring down marijuana in containers of fish do quite well. Be Best.

In reply to openning

I remember Sunil Narine being picked for his test debut based solely on a stellar IPL in 2012. He also took his first fiver versus NZ that year in the test series

In reply to Jumpstart

Stuart Williams- that shithound....

In reply to laynew

I agree with you. I think we will soon past the golden age of WI T20 and you will see less and less of our cricketers getting the big deals (the kinds that bravo, pollard, gayle, Russel and Narine attract)

In reply to laynew

Its called market economics. Freedom to ply your trade at a place that will feed you.
And "skill" plays a big part.

In reply to Lungidi2017

A lot of companies give incentives for employees not to leave or resign. For example one company I worked for gave you shares that matured over three years. One company I know gave you an extra 4 weeks annual leave every four years.

The WICB can put an incentive scheme in place to help players commit to WI cricket. Like I said, if West Indies cricket improves, so will the remuneration the players get.

I am not asking the WICB to break any laws, but sign a core of you g players up for a three to five year period, and have a plan to improve them over that period. Get them to focus on improving skills, technique and fitness

Man we need to do something different, I fed up with these results and the team still can’t reach the bottom of the barrel after all these years