Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer
Jackie Hendriks ... We have nothing to lose by giving our young cricketers all the support, any way we can, to let them go forward and bring credit to the West Indies.

Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

CRICKET IS trumpeted as the one true uniting force among the English-speaking Caribbean nations.

From Georgetown to Kingston and all those islands in the sea in between, the passions of the people in the region rise and fall with the performances of their representatives in the famous maroon caps.

Unfortunately, over the past dozen years or so, West Indian cricket has been in a dramatic freefall that not even the brilliance of players like Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose could arrest.

The glory days of the '80s when the Windies ruled the world are a fading memory and the fans, almost to a man, point the blame squarely at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

Reasons for lambasting

The maligned body has been accused of everything under the sun except global warming.

Fiscal mismanagement, cronyism and simple ineptitude fuelled by regional rivalries are uttered by supporters as they lambast the board for the West Indies' demise on the field.

Jackie Hendriks is on the inside looking out, and he believes the criticism of the board is overly harsh and, for the most part, unwarranted.

As a director and executive committee member of the WICB, it's not surprising that the former West Indian 'keeper who played 20 Tests in the 1960s, is willing to go in to bat for the board, but after a few minutes you realise it's not duty to his peers that drives the 73-year-old on, but an unbridled love of the game.

"The board has got a very bad reputation but I don't think it is totally responsible for how things have gone on," Hendriks said.

"You just have got to understand we don't have the humongous amounts of money that places like Australia, England and India have to put into the game and development," he said.

"We are at a very, very low ebb at the moment," the 10-year board veteran said. "I think the performances speak for themselves ... and we (the board) are judged by what happens on the field, but a lot of the criticism I hear is unfair.

"I can understand the frustration of our cricket lovers. I am frustrated too, but the board is the easiest scapegoat and we have tried our best with the limited resources that we have. Our cricketers, at the top level, are among the best paid in the world but the performances have been lacking. If someone knows why, please let me know."

Every man and his mutt has a reason for the side's fall from its once lofty position and Hendriks is no different.

Reasons for early success

"One has got to remember that back in the '70s and '80s West Indian cricketers were employed in the English Counties," he said."They got a professional grounding and were very familiar with English conditions - moreso, perhaps, than the English players. That had a big part to play in our success. I would not say totally, but those fellows were real professionals and they had a work ethic that was incredible."

Then, with a clampdown on overseas professionals in County cricket and increased international commitments, the writing was on the wall, Hendriks said.

"We saw this coming (the decline of West Indies cricket) in the late '80s ... we realised so many of our outstanding players were retiring and when we examined the replacements for the likes of the Michael Holdings and Andy Roberts and Joel Garners and so on we knew we were going to have a battle, but we didn't have any money to put a development programme in place," he said.

"You have to understand, the WICB was a very small operation then but things have evolved. I think, mistakenly, we have based too much of our division of spoils on the Australian system where the players get a certain amount of the total revenue of the Australian board and when you look at the Australian and West Indian economies there's a great disparity," Hendriks, who is also president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), said.

On and off the field the game here is reeling and Hendriks does not see any immediate turnaround on the horizon.

"I don't think there's a quick fix for West Indies cricket now. What we have to do is put a development programme in place and start with the teenagers and teach them the game," he said.

Looking at academic side

"The (WI cricket) academy is going to start again. Here in Jamaica we are looking at a school of excellence which will start next year at Sabina Park where we can accommodate the young players.

"We want to not only teach cricket but also make sure the academic side is looked after as well. I feel one of the things that is very important for a cricketer is his intelligence. Cricket is a gamewhich takes a lot of mental toughness and we want to make sure our youngsters, when they come out, are - more or less - complete human beings. We want to see more leaders coming out. We want to see that youngster go back to his community and lead and not be led."

The youth programme is the obvious way to go, but the question begs to be asked, why has it taken the WICB and the affiliated regional associations so long to act?

"The truth of the matter is that the funds have not been available. It is to be hoped that whatever proceeds we get from the World Cup will be used to start these programmes," he said.

No official figures have been released, but the WICB is hoping to net more than US$30 million. From that total it will keep 75 per cent and the rest will be disbursed to the six territories, which could amount to about US$1 million each.

Coming changes at the top

Meanwhile, Julian Hunte from St. Lucia is poised to take over from retiring board president Ken Gordon, whose term has been widely regarded as a disaster and has seen relations between the board and players sink to new depths. Whether changes at the top will make any great difference to the running of the organisation remains to be seen.

"We will have to see what will happen, but we definitely have to see a change in the direction of how our young players are developed and the development of coaches and we certainly need to narrow the chasm between the players and the board," said Hendriks.

"I am convinced that this is something that needs to be done urgently. We need to sit down with the players and try our utmost to let them understand that we are behind them and we want to see West Indies cricket grow and prosper."

The amiable veteran of the board is in his final year of service. Critics claim that the likes of Hendriks and other silver-haired members have lost touch with today's players.

"I don't think age has much to do with it. We need to hear their problems and they should hear ours, but we have to get the board and theplayers on the same page, otherwise how are we ever going to turn things around?

"We have nothing to lose by giving our young cricketers all the support, any way we can, to let them go forward and bring credit to the West Indies."

As the tape recorder clicks off, Hendriks rises from his chair and bids farewell.

"I love talking about cricket," he says.

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