West Indies legend Clive Lloyd says there is an urgent need for the Cricket West Indies board to hold a cricket symposium to discuss the current state of the game in the region and determine a way forward thereafter.
The former West Indies captain, who was very present at the ongoing 2019 ICC World Cup commentating on the West Indies matches, said it is critical for the CWI to get all the stakeholders involved in these sessions, get their input and use the information collected in these forums.
“We need to have the board set up a cricket symposium and get major stakeholders who can make a difference on board,” Lloyd told Guardian Media.
“We need to sit down and plan properly what we want to do at the youth level, which is under-15 come up, what we need to do with our A teams and the senior team. We must not forget the ladies, as we must have a comprehensive plan in moving forward.
“This must also be coupled with plans to implement whatever is decided after the symposium is completed. We must have our ideas put into practice and this is the only way we can move the process forward.”
Despite a bright start with a seven-wicket win against Pakistan in their opening match, skipper Jason Holder’s West Indies failed to impress thereafter at the 2019 World Cup and did not make the semifinals. They won just two of their nine matches, losing six with one game being washed out and eventually finished ninth in the 10-team tournament.
Lloyd, who was one of the most successful West Indies captains ever and led the team to two World Cups in 1975 and ‘79, added that he had participated in a cricket symposium many years ago with former board president Teddy Griffith, but noted the report compiled form that exercise was probably somewhere at the board’s office collecting dust since none of the recommendations has ever been implemented.
Speaking frankly about the current state of the game, Lloyd said all hands must be on deck for the West Indies team to get back to where it once was. He said the talent is there but it was also all about how you handle it.
“Look, I keep saying that when I looked at our young talent out there at this World Cup, no one really bowled an unplayable delivery to them. They got themselves out and we must find ways to get into their head and say to them that this is what is needed to move your game from one level to the next. The boys have the talent but it is all over the place at the moment.”
The West Indies’ next opponents will be India, who they play against in three T20s, three ODIs and two Test matches in the Caribbean.
The series starts with the first T20 in Fort Lauderdale, USA, on August 3.