Former West Indies greatest captain Sir Vivian Richard joined the Good Morning JoJo program and called for a concerted effort to address issues affecting the game and develop local players.
He also said that he believes that there is too much division and in some cases rivalry between those who consider themselves to be the main cricket brains in the country. He explained it as follows.
“There are a lot of guys who are pretty good in what they do, and the first who comes to mind is Kenneth Benjamin who would have established what he has over there in Liberta. He has done magnificent work there, but I believe that at times there is a lot of rivalry, and you listen to it but it’s not good.”
Accordingly, his opinion is that all those who know well about the game should be brought together.
“I believe these minds should be put together because, to be fair, Ridley Jacobs is part of the ministry. he knows his stuff and everyone should basically get together because these guys, like Winston Benjamin, are pretty knowledgeable of the game. They would have gained the experience from playing at the highest level and when I listen on the radio sometimes, it doesn’t feel that good.”
Commenting further, Sir Vivian Richards said that there should be a dialogue on finding ways to improve or restructure the integrated school cricket Programs.
“Combined Schools has always been an integral part in our cricket [but] from some of the scores that I’ve seen at this particular time, it doesn’t look like they are cutting it. So, they should look to try and find out ways in which we could try and improve it, and I think the best way to go is to have dialogue on how we can improve it.”
As well as,
“Most of these guys who are coaches as well would have come through that particular system and they would know that Combined Schools would have given Antigua and Barbuda some of its best cricketers.”
Domestic cricket has been in continuous deteriorated for several years and there are many debates about it. A recent major problem is that some players continue to fail fitness tests.