GORDON

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):

KEN GORDON, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president, said, this week, West Indies players needed to develop a culture of professionalism if they were to compete with the best in the world.

Speaking in the wake of the regional team's 67-run defeat to South Africa on Tuesday - their fourth successive loss in as many Cricket World Cup second-round matches - Gordon said West Indies could no longer depend on talent alone, but needed a professional approach if they were to succeed.

"We have gotten by for all these years on pure talent. The game is no longer about puretalent, this game is about professionalism and unfortunately we don't have very much of it largely because those of our people who have done well have done it purely because they have been gifted by God with this extraordinary talent," Gordon said.

Make them understand

"Now we have to work on making them understand you don't go out there and look like a smart man, you go out there, work on it and make the part and make the runs and apply yourself, that's why we are never consistent. Consistency comes from professionalism and that's what we have to develop."

Gordon, who said the WICB accepted part of the responsibility for the team's poor performances, also admitted the players were competing against superior players who had benefitted from academy training.

"We send our players in to play against the rest of the world with one of their hands tied behind their backs every time they go out on that field because they are playing against people who have been exposed to holistic development, people who had training not just on going and hitting the ball, but understanding the game and thinking it through and developing themselves as individuals and their judgments," Gordon explained.

He said over the years the WICB had been unable to find the financial resources to establish an academy.