BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association, Richard Berridge is seeking to lift the sport in the region as the senior men’s team continues to produce subpar performances.
In a recent exclusive interview with SKNVibes Sports, Berridge explained that his main goal for cricket in the sub-region is to develop the grassroots level of the game in member states.
He however admitted that there is no quick fix to the current problems facing the Leeward Islands.
“I think when you look at all the successful cricketing nations around the world, they have a very strong feeder system from grassroots cricket to kiddies cricket right up to the men's levels,” Berridge said.
The CEO is of the view that for many years supporters of the team have been hoping for them to produce “magic and wonders” even without the proper structures being in place, noticeably a feeder system to push players through the ranks.
“We would want them to win, to do well, but without the feeder system, without cricket in our individual territories, without cricket academies it is not possible for us to produce top class players to play at the regional level and at the international stage.”
Against that backdrop, Berridge suggested that the genesis of the problem is rooted in the overall status quo of West Indies cricket, where the lack of a feeder system is stagnating the development of the domestic aspect of the game and the players.
Speaking to his developmental plan for the game in the Leeward Islands, the cricket enthusiast pointed to the club structure as one of the areas in which players’ development is lacking, adding that the more developed territorial boards consistently play cricket throughout the year.
“However, club cricket is very important, because when you look at Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana, they play cricket for nine or 10 months of the year. So they are now feeding players from the club cricket into their national or domestic teams to represent their countries.
“In the Leeward Islands, you know that we hardly play any cricket. St. Kitts had an absence of two to three years...Antigua is probably the only one that plays a lot of cricket.”
This, Berridge opined, needs to be rectified, pointing out that there is need for the development of an academy to harness the skills and talent of the young players.
The former West Indies Cricket Video and Statistical Analyst recently presented a proposal to the Leeward Islands Cricket Board as part of his plan for the revamping of the overall structure of the game.
The proposal includes mandating all member boards to develop an academy and to implement a cricket season of five or six months throughout the year.
“They must have a high schools competition, because the foundation of our cricket is what we need and we will not get any different results,” Berridge explained.
In the recent Nagico Super 50 series, the Leeward Islands cricket team failed to impress and finished third in Group B of that competition which was played in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The team was only victorious in two of its six matches.
The Leeward Islands Hurricanes are currently placed at the bottom of the table with no wins in the Professional Cricket League, which will continue on Friday (Feb 11) with them playing against the Jamaica Scorpions at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua.
