While having no issues with investing more money in West Indies Test cricket, iconic batsman Brian Lara believes the region’s problems goes much deeper when it comes to the game’s longest format.
In fact, Lara who has never been shy about expressing his views, pointed out that the onus is on Cricket West Indies (CWI) to take the necessary steps to resolve the slippage, as the Caribbean side –ranked eighth in the ICC Test rankings –suffered a crushing innings and 114-run defeat to England inside three days in the first of their three-match series, at Lord’s.
“If you put 100 million, 200 million dollars into the West Indies’ bank account, is it going to change the way we play the game? I’m not sure. We are not harnessing the talent that we have,” Lara told BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast.
Though the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope possess enough ability to play crucial roles in Test, both have opted to play just white-ball cricket internationally, which enables them to play in franchise leagues across the world.
That along with the fact that other sports, such as athletics, are vying for the sponsorship dollars across the Caribbean, Lara believes has pushed cricket on the outside.
“Obviously, cricket has been diluted by the number of different sports and different opportunities for kids, but I still believe that corporate West Indies have got to get involved,” Lara said.
“The West Indies Cricket Board hasn’t done the right job in attracting these sponsors to ensure that at least grassroots, but also the academy, all the different things, the facilities, are up to standard. I think these things are very, very important,” he added.
On that note, Lara also stressed the need for more to be done to revive public interest in the longer format.
“We don’t have anybody coming through the gate. I walked in Lord’s about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and outside there were people waiting. That was something I was accustomed to as a kid, getting to the Queens Park Oval at 5:30 and waiting for the gate to be open.
“That’s not happening. You get there at 11 o’clock and there is an empty stadium. You could pick a seat wherever you want. We have to try to get the crowd back,” Lara shared.
“That will breathe the life back into the people of the Caribbean and let them understand what Test cricket is all about and you can get the world of money. You still need to sort of get the crowd more passionate about it and we haven’t been able to do that,” he noted.