Tony Becca

The man for the job is Wright ... I am positive that when they look around, when they remember him, the players, all of them, will welcome him back.

EVERYWHERE CRICKET fans are gathered together, be it in Seaforth, Kingston, Montego Bay, Bull Savanna or Neif Mountain, the question is the same: what has happened to Jamaica's cricket?

It is a question that suggests that something is wrong with Jamaica's cricket - even though, in Christopher Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Gareth Breese, David Bernard Jnr., Carlton Baugh Jnr., Donovan Pagon, Xavier Marshall, Jermaine Lawson, Daren Powell, Dwight Washington and Jerome Taylor, Jamaica have produced 12 West Indies players in the past few years, and all of whom are still playing the game, nine of whom have represented the West Indies in the last year or so.

A look at the regional tournaments, however, shows a different story, and that is why Jamaicans, as they should, are concerned about the state of cricket in the country.

Dead last

In 2005, Jamaica won the four-day title (Carib Cup). In 2006, however, they finished last - dead last, and in 2004 and 2005, in the past two regional one-day tournaments, they finished, on both occasions, an embarrassing fifth out of six teams.

On top of that, the youth team, the Under 19 team was expected by some to win, that was touted by those close to it as a team with some extraordinary talent, finished last in this year's regional youth tournament.

While the best team does not always win, something must be wrong with Jamaica why they have failed, not so much to win, but to perform creditably despite the presence of so many West Indies players.

Is it that the players are not as good as Jamaicans believe they are - as they believe they are; is it because the West Indies team is not strong why so many Jamaicans get into it; or is it that something else is wrong?

Sport mirrors society

Remembering that the late great Sir Neville Cardus of England's Manchester Guardian newspaper said some 75 years ago that sport such as cricket mirrors a society, is the performance of Jamaica's cricketers the fault of the environment, the guidance, and the leadership?

In a society in which volunteerism, but for a very few, is all but dead and gone, in a society in which the best, those who have something to offer, tend to sit aside and do not get involved, that may well be it - for the simple reason that we live in a society in which, far too often, those who lead are those who, because of their lack of knowledge, because of their lack of experience and because of their lack of passion for what they are doing, should be led.

Once upon a time, when cricket was the game to play in this country, cricket clubs were the heart of the social side of the society and the place to be on evenings after work and on Saturdays and Sundays, the cricket clubs in this country and thus the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Jamaica Cricket Board were full of some of the brightest and best people in the country, they were packed with leaders, a number of whom represented this country, and in those days, volunteerism was the order of the day.

Best seldom play

Today, that is not so. Today, the brightest and the best seldom play the game, the clubs are empty and the JCA and the JCB are made up of workers only.

There are hardly any leaders around.

Although it does not follow that a good leader is one who represents his country - or that one cannot lead unless one has represented his country, nothing beats experience, nothing beats the knowledge gained from having been there, and it is sad, and disappointing, that of the 19 directors of the board, only president Jackie Hendriks, Linden Wright and Courtney Daley represented this country.

What is really disappointing is that it does not seem that there is any place in Jamaica's cricket - in the leadership of Jamaica's cricket - for those who represented Jamaica.

Jamaica's recent performances in the regional competitions have a lot to do with attitude, based on what can be seen and on the whispers, including those from the players, that attitude seems to be the result of, among other things, the lack of quality leadership, and something must be done to rectify.

Start with the manager

We should start with the manager of the Jamaica team and put in place someone who knows the game, someone who has had experience playing the game - preferably at the first-class level, someone with a passion for the game, and someone who knows what representing this country means and who is willing to insist that those who now represent this country toe the line.

Right now, and although he has been there before, the man for the job is Wright - a former Jamaica player, a national youth manager who won the three-day title in 1998 and the one-day title in 1999, a national manager from 2000 to 2003 who won the Busta Cup once and the Busta Shield twice, a national selector from 1998 to 2006, and a member of the board from 1997 until this day.

I am positive that when they look around, when they remember him, the players, all of them, will welcome him back.