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Andy Roberts, the former West Indies fast bowler, could not conceal his sense of utter hopelessness for the future of West Indies cricket when he spoke after the completion of the KFC Cup last week.”I watched and I couldn’t face it at times,” said Roberts in his interview with the . “Everything bothered me. Every single thing. We have to admit we have a crisis in West Indies cricket.”It is a crisis that has developed over two decades. Its myriad causes have long since been recognised yet they all surfaced once again in the region’s premier limited-overs tournament. Roberts bemoaned the fact that no players had emerged to press who he described as “the incumbents” in the West Indies team for their places. He noted the basic lack of batting technique, an observation starkly supported by a glance at the scores, like West Indies Under-19 being bowled out for 18 against Barbados.Such observations are a strong indictment of coaching at the lower levels of the game in the West Indies, a deficiency that requires urgent attention. There was much else besides that was discouraging, even more so since it perpetuated the deficiencies of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in planning and organisation.There were more teams but less cricket, a reversal of the ideal balance. To accommodate the puzzling addition of the U-19s and an amalgamation tagged as Combined Campuses and Colleges, the qualifying round was divided into two groups, limiting each side to three matches, as opposed to five last season.The semi-finals and final were played at the Three Ws Oval in Bridgetown, while less than a mile away, the multi-million dollar Kensington Oval which staged the World Cup final six months earlier, turned a whiter shade of pale by the day.

When rain – which tends to fall in Barbados at the tailend of the season in October – drenched an outfield without the drainage necessary to cope with a deluge, one semi-final had to be abandoned, amidst heated controversy, with no provision for a reserve day.Had the Kensington Oval been the venue, the problem would not have arisen, for vast sums were spent on sanding and installing the most modern drainage facilities for the World Cup. It was learnt that the Three Ws Oval was chosen because it was fitted with floodlights – and Kensington was not.It was the first time major regional cricket was played under lights, 29 years after Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket (WSC) introduced it in Australia. As such, it was seen as helping the development of the game. Even so, other World Cup stadiums, in St Lucia and Antigua, also carry lights. And then there is the ongoing squabble between the UWI and the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), the accredited broadcasters, over the inadequate facilities provided.Predictably, the buck was passed one way and then the next, from the UWI, to the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), to the CMC. In the end, there is only one place that it should stop in relation to all of the foul-ups and that is at the WICB. It was, after all, their tournament.As Haydn Gill pointed out in , complaints such as those now heard from captains Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga and Corey Collymore, simply echo those of Courtney Walsh and Philo Wallace eight years earlier when a washed-out semi-final and the absence of a reserve day led to Barbados’ exit.The same thing occurred in 2001, prompting the Barbados manager at the time, Tony Howard, to pointedly comment: “The problem with this competition is that it seems to be organised by non-cricketers and there seems to be other issues which take precedence over the cricketing aspects.”Howard, a former West Indies Test player, is now the WICB’s cricket operations manager and, presumably, responsible for cricketing matters. If the KFC Cup and other regional tournaments are still being planned by ‘non-cricketers’, he is serving no useful purpose.If he does remain in office, he could do no better than to arrange with the Stanford 20/20 group to observe how to properly run a cricket tournament. It really is not that difficult – and money has very little to do with it.

Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, has said that he will step down when his contract expires in June 2008.”That will conclude seven years and I will not stay on longer than that,” Speed said from the ICC’s headquarters in Dubai.He denied that the stinging criticism both he and the ICC had received during the World Cup had influenced his decision, insisting that he had made up his mind before then.”It’s not a secret, there’s nothing earth-shattering,” an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo. “He’s just decided now’s a good time. He will be 60 next September and he was is quite content that the future is on a good footing. He will have left the game on a sound footing in terms of finances, thanks to agreements including the recent deal with ESPN-Star.”Speed succeeded David Richards, another Australian, in 2001 and he has overseen a period when income into the game has reached unprecedented levels. But with that has come a marked increase in the power of individual boards, and Speed has often seemed increasingly at odds with the policies the ICC has been forced to follow.The ICC will discuss the process of recruitment in October. It expects David Morgan, who is on the human resources and remuneration committee, to play a role there, particularly as he will be the incumbent president.

ScorecardSanath Jayasuriya’s preparation for the CB Series took a severe blow when he was forced to retire hurt after being hit on the jaw during the Sri Lankans’ defeat by Tasmania. Jayasuriya, who was struck when trying to pull a Tim MacDonald bouncer in the eighth over, left the field for six stitches and later went for an x-ray, which cleared him of a fracture.Brendan Drew also hurt the visitors with 5 for 36 from ten overs and they could only reach 9 for 183 in 47.4 overs. Drew, the right arm swing bowler, was impressive, removing Upul Tharanga (24), Kumar Sangakkara (0) and Chamara Silva (5) in his first spell before coming back for the crucial wickets of Chamara Kapugedera and Farveez Maharoof.The pair had put on 46 when Kapugedera fell swiping straight for 34 and Maharoof went in a similar fashion in the next over for 29. Tasmania continued to exert pressure through the left-arm spin of Xavier Doherty, who collected 2 for 36 off ten.The highlight for the tourists was the form of the captain Mahela Jayawardene and he stayed for 59 balls in making a brisk 51. However, his bowlers were quickly in trouble as Tasmania eased to their target in the 37th over.Tim Paine opened with a half-century and Michael Dighton (45) and Dane Anderson (47 not out) also picked up control of the chase. Nuwan Kulasekara was the most penetrative, removing both openers, but the tourists have some concerns ahead of their first CB Series game against India in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Australia will use a target that only one team has bettered to inspire them as they attempt to create a world record of 17 consecutive wins. Despite being outplayed by India for the second day in a row, the home side have not ruled out a surge for victory even though they will resume wanting a further 348.Only West Indies, who stormed to 7 for 418 against Australia in 2003, have captured more than the 413 Australia need, but coach Tim Nielsen does not believe it is out of reach. “In the back of their minds they think this will be a pretty special thing to do,” he said. “That tends to fire them up a little bit and get them enthusiastic.”Many great moments have occurred under Ponting during the unbeaten streak, which stretches back to 2005, but one thing missing is a huge fourth-innings pursuit. It would be a remarkable way to collect the new mark – an India win is the most likely result – and Australia’s task was made even harder when both openers were lost as they reached 65 by stumps.Nielsen was not concerned by the early losses and his outlook was boosted when Ponting (24) and Hussey (5) made it through unharmed. “One way or another, if we play well enough, we’ll give ourselves the chance to chase down a really big total and get the record we’re looking for,” he said. “It’s an achievable result for us and we feel as though we’ve got the quality of batsmen and pretty good conditions on our side.”Despite his optimism, Nielsen knows the final two days will not be easy and the team is desperate for a couple of big hundreds from the top order to secure a stable base. “Ricky and Michael will be vital in that regard to set it up for us,” he said. “The good thing is the wicket’s still in pretty good shape, the outfield’s fast and we’ve seen that when batsmen get in they find it easier to score.”Nielsen said the side was still suffering from being dismissed for a below-par 212 in the first innings and the problems were not caused by a lack of group impact from the pace brigade. He also insisted the players remained upbeat. “We knocked a few runs off the total tonight,” he said, “and there’s still a positive mood around the rooms.”

Gary Kirsten, India’s coach-in-waiting, feels the vast and varied sums of money the players have picked up following the Indian Premier League auction may present a new challenge for him.”The IPL is new territory for all of us. So maybe, the kind of money that’s come in presents a new sort of challenge for me,” Kirsten, whose India contract starts on March 1, told . But we will focus on that if the need comes.”All the current Indian internationals have been signed up by the eight IPL franchises, with some players attracting much more money than others – while 28-Test-old opener Wasim Jaffer was bought by Bangalore for US$ 150,000, five-Test-old fast bowler Ishant Sharma was snapped up by Kolkata for US$ 950,000.Kirsten said IPL is a great opportunity for international cricketers, and saw “no reason why it shouldn’t succeed”. However, the former South Africa opener added that he has no interest “for now” on being part of the Twenty20 tournament starting April 18 as he is focused on the new assignment with the Indian team.”The IPL is unique because it brings in a new kind of supporter to cricket. It also adds a new dimension to the game. I think it’s great,” said Kirsten. “But I am clear that it’s not for me. Certainly, not now. My focus right now is on getting my plans in place for the Indian team.”Kirsten is currently in Mumbai, meeting BCCI officials about getting new support staff in place for the Indian team following the resignations of physio John Gloster and trainer Gregory King. “There are a couple of names in the mix, but we will have to discuss various options before coming to a decision,” said Kirsten.However, he said that he was very keen on getting his business associate and mental skills coach Paddy Upton on board on a permanent basis. “He brings a tremendous amount of experience into the field, and am sure that will add a lot of value,” said Kirsten. Upton has also worked with the South Africa team as a fitness trainer.Although Kirsten was with the Indian team as a consultant during the recent Test series in Australia, he will begin work on a full-time basis starting with the South Africa tour to India next month.