Time running out on Windies revival – Rowley
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):
TRINIDAD AND Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley boldly predicted that if West Indies fails to “get its act together”, teams such as the United States will easily beat them on the international stage.
Rowley is the current chairman of the CARICOM prime ministerial subcommittee on cricket, which has been mandated to examine all matters related to the development of the sport in the Caribbean to better position it so that West Indies could return to the glorious days.
The T&T prime minister conceded that a lot of work was needed to arrest the slide of not only the West Indies team, but the sport generally in the Caribbean, and he has embarked upon a mission to design a long-term strategic plan to address several issues.
“If we do not get our act together now, we will struggle to beat the United States because they have now come into the game and with their organisational skills, their resources, and management of sport, they will leave us behind,” he said in a wide-ranging radio interview on I95 FM this past Saturday in Port of Spain.
“You notice now that there will be Twenty20 World Cup matches in the United States? We do not have much time to get to the root of our problems and try to grasp the nettle and put down a plan.”
Rowley said the issues impacting West Indies cricket were complex, and the situation needed to be handled carefully to get the best outcomes.
“It is a complication that requires, first and foremost, to understand what exactly is the problem, what is the minefield you are crossing, and how do you cross that minefield,” he said. “I am working on understanding these three things.
“My objective is working towards a development plan, and having spoken to some of my prime ministerial colleagues that is the approach we want to take. Flying around and blaming people and depressing ourselves about the state of the game is not getting anybody anywhere.
“We need to get the people who can help us to put our finger on the pulse of the problem. We need to diagnose the problem – and it is not unifaceted, it is multifaceted.”
Rowley said he hoped to convene a meeting in January with several stakeholders inside the sport and others too, to reflect on the best way forward, so that a formidable strategic plan can be designed to set West Indies cricket on a firm footing.