The revival of West Indies cricket may well depend on Trinidad and Tobago's ability to churn out quality players in the Test match arena much as they have done in the T20 game.
So said second vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board Lalman Kowlessar when the Movement for Change celebrated their return to governance in recent national executive elections.
Kowlessar, a retired Presentation College, Chaguanas teacher was re-elected unopposed and now heads the important National Selection Committee which was ratified at a T&TCB retreat two weekend ago.
He was referring to the humiliating defeat suffered by the West Indies on Sunday when they capitulated in three days to India in the Second Test in Mumbai. The match commemorated Sachin Tendulkar's 200th and final Test.
Kowlessar said while T&T cricket has made great strides and has much to be proud of, the regional outlook is not all that rosy.
"The onus is to rescue the West Indies from the morass it has found itself in,"said Kowlessar, who is also the president of the Umpires and Scorers Association.
Also speaking to the large turnout of Movement for Change guests at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain on Saturday was Azim Bassarath, president of the T&TCB. He thanked his supporters for showing faith in his leadership for a third term of office, which has been increased from two years to three but sounded a caution that much more work needs to be done.
He said local cricket is in a better place than the Movement for Change found it four years ago and is poised to progress to a higher level but he called for all stakeholders to pull together.
Bassarath said the achievements of the past four years has come about by sound planning and vision which has made the T&T cricket brand a household name right around the world.
He commended members of his executive including Dr Allen Sammy, Baldath Mahabir, Lalman Kowlessar, Arjoon Ramlal, Dudnath Ramkessoon, Patrick Rampersad, Ann Brown-John and Sukesh Maniam for the quality of their contribution to the administration of the sport.
He said success only comes from hard work, building trust and fulfilling promises made to the stakeholders which their rivals in the recent national executive elections failed to appreciate.
The Bassarath led incumbent slate defeated a spirited challenge by former national players Dinanath Ramnarine and Daren Ganga in the October 26 polls.
The T&TCB president said a victory of their rivals would have placed local and regional cricket in jeopardy.
But the campaigning and elections over, Bassarath said the time has come for everyone with the game at heart to re-dedicate themselves to the task at hand and work in unity to make further progress.
"We at the cricket board have made transparency and accountability our hallmark of governance and can stand scrutiny. It is a rich legacy which many other sporting organizations would do well to emulate," said Bassarath.
Guests at the function were also treated to several entertaining performances from local Indian songstress Ameena Ramsaran, national executive member Tarandath Sammy and longstanding umpire and orator Inskip Watson.
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