As everyone comes up with different ideas so as to arrest the apparent decline in T&T's first class cricket fortunes, I would just like to give my two cents' worth on the topic.
Players, officials and fans have been commenting on the poor performance of the national team over the past three weeks, where they have lost to Jamaica (first class), Barbados (first class) and CCC (Super50). Those losses have been punctuated by wins against Jamaica (Super50) and Barbados (Super50).
Local fans have had a bitter pill to swallow over the last week or so with two crushing defeats at the hands of Barbados and CCC (call them little Barbados, if you please). It is very clear to me that our batting is replicating what we do in our domestic leagues. We have done pretty well in T20 cricket with three regional crowns and even a runner-up spot in the Champions League in 2009 in India. We have won Super50s and even this year, although we were beaten badly in the semis, we reached here with six successive wins under our belts.
T&T players can obviously play 'instant' cricket well. The problem comes in when we turn our attention to the longer format, which, according to many, is the real deal. I think the problem here lies with our domestic cricket structure. In Trinidad we play two-day cricket and with everything geared to winning the title, development falls by the wayside.
Players cannot sit down and structure proper innings because of the fact that their team is looking to win a match in two days. So you find men having to hustle, take chances, and get runs quickly. It affects their ability to set out their stalls and play big innings. While one may argue and say that it has probably helped with batsmen showing more urgency and hence our success in instant cricket, I think it is destroying our cricket.
Many papers have been written and many ideas shared on what can be done to improve the structure of our cricket. For one, I think we should go back to three-day cricket and shorten the Sunday League tournament. Now the Sunday League could be shortened easily by changing the knockout phase. Probably two groups with the winners of each group contesting the finals. This makes more time for three-day cricket.
Plus, what I have noticed now in Trinidad, is that the game is now year-round and not only confined to a 'cricket season.' Just look at domestic cricket last year. While we played two-day cricket because of time constraints, we held a number of meaningless T20 competitions–like the franchise cricket series–which failed badly.
We can play the entire T20 tournament at the Oval anytime of the year because the drainage is excellent and cricket can be played not too long after a shower. So take the T20 tournament out of the so called 'cricket season' and play it as a festival later in the year at the Oval. This would then give you extra days to play three-day cricket.
What I suggest is that you play the Sunday League on the Saturday (change the name, hopefully to that of a sponsor) and then you start the first day of the three-day game on the Sunday. This second and third day's play will now continue the following weekend. This would allow batsmen the luxury of time, so that they can go about their innings in a more structured manner.
I am sure if this is done, the first season of it would still to every match finish in a result–barring rain. However, as time goes on the mindset of the players would change and they would be able to play longer innings. Bowlers would also benefit as they would now have to find more ways to dismiss batsmen who can settle and play proper cricket. I always say in T20 cricket all batsmen are half-way out already because they have to attack but in the first class you have to work them out and it helps when the player moves on to the Test level.
I hope that as the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) looks at ways to improve the cricket and arrest the current situation, they give the structure of the domestic league some serious consideration.
?