With the West Indies cricket team not making the grade for the 2017 Champions Trophy, the daggers will be out once again and of course, they will be aimed at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its president Dave Cameron.
Today, I just want to take a clear look at all the parties that must stand up and take blame for the current position in which West Indies finds itself. The anger is not yet out but come 2017, when eight teams go out there to compete for the Champions Trophy title and there is no maroon, the fans will be letting loose.
While the WICB must carry blame, I also think that the players as well as the territorial boards must come out and share some of it. I was in India when the West Indies team left and returned home and the common man in the streets of Dharamshala could have understood the gravity of the situation, yet our players could not.
While I am not saying that they should have accepted what was on offer, there are ways of getting things done and being always aggressive never works out. That day in Dharamshala, West Indies cricket was brought to its knees and it seems that it cannot recover from it.
I wonder how many directors of the territorial boards will also bow their heads when the Champions Trophy starts. Let us understand something, the development of good West Indian cricketers starts at the territorial level.
The six territorial boards across the region, namely the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB), Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), Windward Islands Cricket Board (WICB), Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA), Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), have to ensure that they have proper coaching and development programmes so that better players are fed to the West Indies level.
The Professional Cricket League's (PCL) second year got off just a couple of days ago and I would like to hear from the different territorial boards as to what their plans are for development and keeping the cricketers who are on retainer contracts actively involved in improving their skill.
Are the players just drawing a salary or are they required to check in for 'work' as normal employees do? What are the plans from the territorial boards in taking the game forward in their neck of the woods?
The territorial boards must have sound development plans in place. The WICB funds the territorial boards to an extent where they can employ full time CEOs and they must be efficient in making sure that the board gets value for money from the players who are retained.
It must not be a situation where monies are sent out to the territorial boards and value is not returned. The territorial boards must employ well-qualified coaches so that young players are met with proper guidance early in their careers. The WICB cannot go into a country and employ a national coach for them. The onus is on the respective boards to find the best coaches and develop the best programmes for their players.
The TTCB has been good in this regard and they have started to turn around their fortunes after being starved of funds. The youth teams are playing well and although they did not return the titles, they are showing marked improvement with the programmes that have now come on stream.
President of the TTCB, Azim Bassarath continues to be a standout in leading his board and his control of the affairs of local cricket in this country must be commended. There are always people who think they can do a better job and they run all over the place doing what they do best, which is running their mouths.
I have seen the development plans put together by the TTCB and it is no fluke that so many players from T&T are on the West Indies cricket team in the different formats.
What Bassarath has been able to do is stay on the ball and look for ways to improve. Recently, the TTCB met with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) CEO Venky Mysore looking to explore avenues where there could be development of players and administrators.
I notice Guyana has also started to do well in terms of getting their cricket back in order and they have already forwarded their development plan to the WICB so that the central body can assist where it can to take the game forward in that country.
The Windwards have also come on board, and just recently, Sandals joined them by opening an Academy in St Lucia for players. The players will be under the hand of former West Indies all rounder Roger Harper and this shows progress.
What is the situation with the JCA, BCA and LICA? Everyone needs to come on board to make the whole good. So while we point fingers, let's do like the Australians, stand up and be men and take blame and find ways to improve.