WEST INDIES cricket is in a sorry state. It is certainly not nearly as strong as it used to be and yet, all that seems to be happening day after day, week after week, is talk and nothing but talk.

It is the kind of talk which, after an outstanding performance by himself or Shivnarine Chanderpaul, after consistently poor performances by the majority of the other players, after failing to distinguish themselves against ordinary opponents, sees captain Chris Gayle say how much the players "gained from the tour" and that "credit must go to the guys for the way we played".

Making statements, promises

And then - as was the case last Monday, in Guyana, when West Indies Cricket Board president Julian Hunte announced that its proposed High Performance Centre is on the way and he expects a draft report by June on the proposed pro league - there is the board which is always making statements and always making promises.

Nothing is wrong with a captain trying to motivate his players or with a board proposing and announcing things.

What is wrong, however, what is disappointing to those listening, is when, despite the facts, a captain keeps saying the same things over and over. When, despite failing to deliver on umpteen previous proposals and promises, the board keeps promising and promising and promising.

Some time in the 18th century, Oliver Goldsmith said that "if you were to make little fishes talk, they would talk like whales". Especially as far as the WICB is concerned, although you probably need a high performance centre, even though you definitely need a pro league in the region, this is exactly what is happening in the West Indies.

However what West Indies cricket needs are men who love the game to administer the game - people with a passion for the game and people who know the game.

It needs people who know who is a good batsman and who is not; who is a good bowler and who is not; who has the desire to perform; who wants to be the best, and who has the capacity to perform and who does not.

What West Indies cricket does not need, not at this time or any time, are people who are in the game for their own glorification - people who do not have a passion for the game, people who do not know the game, people who cannot differentiate between a batsman good enough for a schoolboy match and later on for a club match or a 'curried goat' match and one with the skill and the capacity to reach the top.

Skill to sell the game

It also does not need people who cannot sell the game in an effort to spread the game; people who are satisfied providing they are involved; people who, because of their egos, are not willing to take one step back even if it is in the best interest of the game; and people who, despite all the recent talk of money coming into the game, of a windfall down the road, cannot get a cent for a game. This is a game, which once upon a time, was king of the region - a region that was, for a long, long time, the best in the world.

What West Indies cricket needs now are not leaders whose only motivation to serve is to enjoy the trappings - the prestige and the travel - which go along with being a member of a territorial board and more so of the West Indies Cricket Board.

What West Indies cricket needs now are leaders who can market the game so that the fans and the sponsors will return to the game. Leaders who are big enough to let those who know the game and who are doing a good job to continue doing their job.

Leaders who, instead of talking so much about high performance centres, coaches and what have you, can inspire the young cricketers in the pursuit of greatness.

Leaders who can motivate the players, all of them, to train and to practice. Leaders who understand and appreciate the need for a strong club system in the development process and leaders who can find the funding to support the clubs, the money and the spectators, to support a professional first-class league.

A pro league is arguably the most important need in West Indies cricket at this moment. A pro league will mean money in the pocket of the players, that will guarantee that the older players will keep playing the game.

Apart from being available for selection to the West Indies team, the presence of the older players will improve the skill of the talented young players, and unlike what is happening today, when they are thrown in before they are properly developed and fully matured, young players will be better prepared, more experienced and ready to perform.

In bemoaning the lack of quality among young batsmen, Ian Chappell, the former outstanding batsman and captain of Australia, said recently that one of the reasons for the decline in quality is the packed itinerary for Test players today.

According to Chappell, the absence of Test players from club and sometimes even first-class cricket has robbed young players of the opportunity of playing with senior players. The sooner a good young cricketer plays against senior players rather than players of his own age group, the better it is for him.

Improving the quality

The competitive environment, the examination of his ability and character many times before he reaches Test level are what, according to the gospel of Chappell, develop a young talented player into a good Test player.

By guaranteeing that the older players, in order to earn, will continue to play the game, and especially so at club level, the pro league would be a god-send to West Indies cricket.

West Indies cricket need leaders who, more than anything else, are interested in improving the quality of West Indies cricket and the performance of the West Indies team.

It needs leaders who feel it so much that they shed a tear whenever the West Indies, their beloved West Indies, not only lose a match but more so whenever they play like schoolboys.