1) Cricket Grounds: We already have good stadia in the Caribbean so the physical structures/venues are not relevant. The only thing currently missing are the the crowds. The people create the experience and the atmosphere. The grounds/venues IMO are secondary to the experience. I remember watching ALL of the World Cup 2007 matches played at the Grenada National Stadium and the memories were mainly about drinking and laughing with my buddies, talking to the foreigners, and cheering on the team. The experience was wonderful because of the people/crowd.
2) Merchandising: The least important of the three topics. However advertising/selling the games in advance to draw foreigners and locals are very important.
Structure: I think most of the structure above has been recently put in place so we should start seeing results soon. My belief is that the man most responsible for the West Indies Cricket slide is Peter Short. Cpt Short was in charge of the Board when we were winning and this put him in a false sense of complacency because he did very little to foster young talent. He foolishly thought that the Sobers’s and the Richards would continue to appear magically from nowhere without structure and coaching. That did not happen.
In Conclusion, we need some wins to bring back the crowds. Wins will come from youth structures like ‘Kiddy Cricket’ and innovate tournaments like PSL. In the past our pipe line was street/beach/club cricket but those days are long gone. It wont be long before we become competitive again. I believe strongly this.
Sport tourism is the way to go. CWI and the regional Governments could develop travel packages with LIAT and the Hotel Industry along with local residents to provide affordable accommodation when matches are played in respective countries.
A study showed that if air fare and accommodation was affordable between the islands, fans in the thousands would travel
to attend matches. CWI need to think outside the box to get fans in the stands.
1) Cricket Grounds: We already have good stadia in the Caribbean so the physical structures/venues are not relevant. The only thing currently missing are the the crowds. The people create the experience and the atmosphere. The grounds/venues IMO are secondary to the experience. I remember watching ALL of the World Cup 2007 matches played at the Grenada National Stadium and the memories were mainly about drinking and laughing with my buddies, talking to the foreigners, and cheering on the team. The experience was wonderful because of the people/crowd.
2) Merchandising: The least important of the three topics. However advertising/selling the games in advance to draw foreigners and locals are very important.
Structure: I think most of the structure above has been recently put in place so we should start seeing results soon. My belief is that the man most responsible for the West Indies Cricket slide is Peter Short. Cpt Short was in charge of the Board when we were winning and this put him in a false sense of complacency because he did very little to foster young talent. He foolishly thought that the Sobers’s and the Richards would continue to appear magically from nowhere without structure and coaching. That did not happen.
In Conclusion, we need some wins to bring back the crowds. Wins will come from youth structures like ‘Kiddy Cricket’ and innovate tournaments like PSL. In the past our pipe line was street/beach/club cricket but those days are long gone. It wont be long before we become competitive again. I believe strongly this.
It’s like a chicken and egg situation isn’t it. Maybe the players would say they need crowds to help motivate them?
Developing fast bowlers who bowl wicket to wicket is paramount. Need a year round camp to develop fast bowlers
Cause wickets win matches 👍👍
Withdraw from Test cricket.
Concentrate on T20s and ODIs to a lesser extent.
Wowza! The old folks would be lost as spectators.
Fix the pitches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Sport tourism is the way to go. CWI and the regional Governments could develop travel packages with LIAT and the Hotel Industry along with local residents to provide affordable accommodation when matches are played in respective countries.
A study showed that if air fare and accommodation was affordable between the islands, fans in the thousands would travel
to attend matches. CWI need to think outside the box to get fans in the stands.