HERACLITUS of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher (535- 475 BC), said “war is the father of all things”. As our Guyana 20/20 “Amazon Conquerors” cricket team returned from South Africa after being “conquered”, one must hope that this globally witnessed decapitation in modern day warfare is the harbinger that ushers the root and branch reform that is so badly needed in Guyana and West Indies cricket.

Competitive Cricket in Guyana and the West Indies is in a crisis. If there was any doubt about my assertion one could listen to Ernest Hilaire, CEO of WICB, when he spoke at a panel discussion on the topic, “Nationalism and the future of West Indies cricket”, at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados on 25th May 2010 where he stated “The simple fact is that we are producing cricketers who are not capable of being World-beaters in cricket.”; or Chetram Singh’s, the President of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), Freudian slip in a live interview in South Africa  where he stated that the standard of the other teams in the competition was above that of Guyana’s; or read the lashings by all sections of the media editorials and published letters over the last few days.

The purpose of this article is to continue the public conversation that will determine expeditiously the design and execution of a long term programme that returns the Guyana and the West Indies team to the crest of cricketing conquest.

The halcyon days of the 1970s and 1980s are distant but nostalgic memories of a temporary global dominance. The West Indies men’s team won both the inaugural 50-overs World Cup, in 1975, and in 1979. India stopped the “Three-Peat” in 1983. Long gone are those “conquering” days! Since then, the West Indies has won only one other competition, the unlikely victors in the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. The WI team currently ranks 7th out of 9 teams in the ICC Test rankings and 8th in the ICC ODI rankings ahead of Bangladesh, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Netherlands, and Kenya. So the question is what can be done about this defeated and depressing state of affairs?

First, Guyana must now have its own Cricket Centre of Excellence (CCE) or High Performance Centre ala the one recently commissioned in June 2010 at the St George’s University in Grenada. The professional sport, as has happened with all sports, has become a science. Our CCE will prepare players both physically and mentally and will rely heavily on the use of science, technology and research. The CCE will be part of a wider University of Guyana kinesiology degree programme where lecturers and students will be able to educate, assist with the design of training programmes and conduct research with players. Additionally, this CCE could also have a cross over opportunity for all other sports development programmes.

Second, all cricket clubs must have all-weather practice facilities. During the two wet seasons in Guyana, there is very little cricket training and consequently, some of the gains that would have been made during the dry season are lost during the wet season. Our competitors have found ways to train even during the winter season. In England they have simply and cheaply used an all weather astro turf surrounded by a pitch frame with nets. All cricket clubs in Guyana ought create their own facility of this description once some space is available. It would also need to be elevated because of the constant flooding during the wet season. Concrete pitches are not a suitable option because of the high injury risk especially to knees.

Third, cricket must become commercialised. Cricket clubs have always had resource constraints so it is virtually impossible for cricket clubs (on their own) to make the required investment. Cricket clubs must now partner with the corporate world on an annual sponsorship basis. Companies are yearning for these types of marketing opportunities. The additional funding should go directly to improving facilities, paying for proper coaching, providing incentives for outstanding performance etc.

Next to football (or soccer in other parts), cricket is now the second most viewed sport on the planet and it is an industry that generates billions of dollars. More importantly, the significance of cricket to Guyana and the West Indies cannot be overstated. Heracliteans would know that the battle was lost but the war is far from over.