FORMER Barbados and West Indies swashbuckling opener Philo Wallace hit the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for a big maximum, when he expressed his feelings on the state of Regional cricket at the moment.

“Our first class cricket is poor. No, that is too decent. It is very, very poor. When you have teams not being able to make 250 and yet some players of those teams are being selected for the West Indies team. That depicts the poor state of our cricket at the moment.”

The 38-year-old Wallace has had the opportunity of playing seven Tests for the West Indies, aggregating 279 runs at an average of 21.46 with two half-centuries and believes that the present crop of players, especially on the West Indies team, are getting on their team without much of a fight.

“Some of them even make the team without much of a cricket background, no record at the first class level to speak about, so when they go to the international level, it would be harder for them.”

He continued to state, “If you are a batsman going into international cricket with a moderate first class season, you have to play well in order to realise that dream of playing for the West Indies.

In my time, we had the Under-19s coming through at the same time as other senior players knocking on the door of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), begging for attention. A lot of us played Under-19 and first division cricket here together, before we were able to break into the senior team” said Wallace.

“You had a consistency of players coming through the ranks at the same level and time. Now you don’t have that, but rather you have players who are coming through a year or even three years apart and that’s not good at all.”

Wallace continued to state, “Players such as Sherwin Campbell, Floyd Reifer, Otis Gibson, Ricky Hoyte and Henderson Bryan just to name a few, formed the nucleus of the team having come through the Under-19 ranks and even though we understood each other, as well as complemented each other’s game, we still had to wait for a play.”

“But now, once you look promising, you get an opportunity to play and I think that is wrong. Young men who are looking to make a mark should achieve something at the first class level first. Get a few matches under their belts before thrusting them onto the international scene.”

“Too soon you hear people saying give him a play, he is young and exciting. But what does he do or what has he done to be exciting, for when they come to the first class level, they struggle. You even hear of how a good batsman he may be, but yet still he has no centuries against slow bowling, so how will he survive at the top?” asks Wallace.

“We are looking for overnight stars for our cricket and that is definitely not good. If we want to throw somebody into the international arena, let’s make sure that he is ready for same in more ways than one, especially mentally, as many of them don’t have the stability to hang in there and fight.”

The former Barbados captain who scored 12 centuries and 40 half-centuries from 107 first class matches, would like to see younger players take the initiative and help restore West Indies cricket back to the days of yore.

“At the moment, we are lingering at the bottom of the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings at number eight. We may not like it, but if the ICC says that’s where we are, then so be it. But having said that, I would like to see the players buckle down and fight it out.”

“You hear some of them talking about the pitch and how it is good for batting, but … still their individual contribution is not anything to make a noise over. They would play a few exciting shots, but before you know it, they are making their way back to the pavilion two overs later,” said Wallace.

“Some of them even come from a Regional team that does not win anything at all. So if you are not accustomed to winning, how can you transform into the West Indies team?” asks Wallace.

The burly looking former opener who loved to hit the ball far and hard further stated, “Look at Jamaica. They won the Regional tournament last year, but they don’t have a winning habit. They have been struggling with low scores and a lot of tight games, but yet they have players coming from a regional background into international cricket with a losing background and yet … people want to see the team do good.”

“First of all, you must have the winning attitude in you. It must start from your club, onto your country and into the West Indies and that’s one of the ways we can revive West Indies cricket. We need more match-winners in the Caribbean.”

“We have slow bowlers who dominate Regional cricket, but when they get to the next level, the result is different as they struggle, even though some of them are not given an extended run, as their stay is very short,” said Wallace.

“Some of them don’t even look the part from the word go. Take a look at the India/Australia series, where India brought in Amit Mishra to replace Anil Kumble who retired. Mishra is only 26 years old, but already has over 300 first class wickets.”

“Apart from him playing first class cricket for a long time, he is also accustomed to taking wickets and doing so on a regular basis. He has also proved he is the perfect replacement for Kumble. But when our players get an opportunity to represent the West Indies, their record at the first class level is not good.”

He continued, “You are picking them because they perform well, but you still say in your mind, does he have the ability to carry the team to the next level. We saw it with Amit Jaggernauth, Dave Mohammed and Sulieman Benn all spinners. But it is the same with the fast bowlers also.”

“A lot of fast bowlers who are playing for the West Indies now don’t have a lot of first class wickets. Some of them don’t even get 10-wicket hauls in match situations. Some of them may be lucky to get three or even four wickets in a match and when you look at some of them overall records, you may be lucky to see one or two 10-wicket hauls.”

“So if they are not accustomed to bowling out teams at the lower level, how can you get them to do it at the international level and that is the way our cricket is at now. We are looking for overnight success, but we don’t have the players with the potential to deliver it. Those in authority are just sitting there and hoping that the players chosen can get the job done.”

RETAINER CONTRACTS
Wallace opined that the idea of having retainer contracts for our players is not a bad idea, as it is the going thing in world cricket. But the big question that should be asked is how long would such be in place for?

“A Retainer Contract is worldwide now. Pakistan have a retainer contract system and they have based their own on seniority. But if you are going to retain a player on contract, he has to be committed towards the development of your cricket.”

“We have seen some of the young West Indian cricketers and asked if they are committed, but that word comes up often. When a person looks back at the glory days, they would say that we did not get much money, but we were committed to West Indies cricket,” said Wallace.

He continued, “You don’t just offer contracts for the sake of doing so, you have to do it to those who are fully committed towards the development of West Indies cricket and that is a burden on the WICB.”

“They did not have a sponsor for the limited overs competition and even this present four-day competition, they don’t have a sponsor. Their resources are being drained. Yes, they may have money in the bank, but if you keep taking out and not putting back in, then they would have to look to a sponsor to sustain same.”

“It makes no sense offering a retainer contract for only a year. A retainer contract has to be for a five-year period, with the young player who is coming into the team, being made aware of his responsibility as a player under such a contract,” said Wallace.

“Those are some of the things the WICB has to take a closer look at. A lot of young players are getting frustrated because of the system. Some of them when they finish at the Under-15 and 19 level, they cannot get into their senior side hence they spend two years in the doldrums playing club cricket, or they migrate to greener pastures.”

“I would like to see the WICB and even the territorial boards, come up with a plan where they can keep these young players actively involved in the game, especially at the academic level,” Wallace stated.