West Indies Cricket is certainly in a continuing state of flux. We seem to move from one issue to the next and it seems as though it gets more and more embarrassing on every occasion. There was the Patterson Committee which was commissioned by the to propose the restructuring of the WICB. What has been done regarding the implementation of this report. To what extent has the public been apprised? Other issues recently were the debacle in terms of the cancelling of a Test Match at the Vivian Richards ground when it was known before that a Test match could never have been played under those conditions. Did politicians influence the WICB? over-enthusiasm of a coach whose decision resulted in the West Indies losing a One-day International. The current issue between the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) seems to be an ongoing issue and my reaction is that it is a combination of incompetence by the Board and greed by WIPA. Until there is a total restructuring of the WICB, as I have alluded to several times before, we shall continue to be presented with problems of inefficiency. Until the West Indies players start performing consistently, I think that there is little justification for them to be going on strike, whether or not they are right or wrong in the context of collective bargaining protocols. The recent major opportunities for financial gain a la Stanford and the IPL in the context of the newest version of the game, seems to have created arrogance among the players to the extent that they have lost sight of the fact that they are professionals and need to behave in a manner which pleases their primary supporters – the people of the Caribbean, at home or in the diaspora. The structure of the West Indies Cricket Board is such that the majority of the supporters in the Caribbean are disenfranchised and, hence, have little say in the democratic process which apparently is in place and which leads to the selection of members of the WICB. There is much reported mutual back-scratching which results in sub-optimal decision making within the WICB structure and, I also understand, that there are lots of political pressures which also result in the sub-optimal decision. Why is it that a selectors panel, and I’m not only thinking of West Indies cricket in this context, must consist of 100% former players? The selection process certainly requires skills which include other considerations. It was impressive to see the WICB act swiftly to ensure that an alternative team was selected to allow the first Bangladesh Test to proceed on time. Reading the profiles of the team selected, and there were a number of other names which could have been considered, it would appear that West Indies cricket has a lot of talent from which it can draw. I personally don’t expect the team selected, based on recent experience, to perform any worse than the first team, with a lot of individual so-called super stars. Indeed, it wouldn’t surprise me if they take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to impress so that the selectors, contrary to their customary process, may see alternatives to the bunch of ‘prima donnas’ which have represented the West Indies team in the recent past. The success of a team is probably 10% skill and 90% application. All of these guys, when they reach this level, have the skill that is required. Some have more experience than others, but what will differentiate them is the degree to which they can apply themselves, irrespective of the attractive financial bonuses which they can expect to make these days. The application will not be automatic but those who seek advice, or are fortunate enough to have a mentor who can give them the correct advice, have an excellent opportunity to succeed. If I were the WICB I would not be too anxious to re-instate the first team until they sat down at the table and negotiated responsibly. It was reported that the last attempt to do so resulted in a meeting between the WICB and WIPA terminating in approximately half-hour because of, what I interpreted to be a very hard-line precipitative response by WIPA. It might be a good opportunity to give these younger players a chance to shine. For example, I understand that there is Craig Brathwaite who, at the tender age of 16, has scored nearly 40 centuries in his youth career. This, surely, is an indicator of tremendous talent for the future. We remember the selection policies which delayed the start of Brian Lara’s career and it seems as though we have not selected Craig Brathwaite in the squad for the First Test against Bangladesh but he didn’t make the team. I remain puzzled at the decision-making processes of the West Indies Selection Committee. Everyone seems to get fired up on issues as they occur and then they gradually die away. Everyone has got complacent to the extent that they appear not to care. Maybe the press should re-examine their role and, instead of making cynical comments deriding the actions of the WICB, they could spend their time positively suggesting, on a sustained basis, various actions for the future.