Barbados Advocate article.
Bridgetown, Barbados - Who will coach the Barbados senior teams in the upcoming regional tournaments?
The Barbados selectors recently announced a list of those players who are expected to take part in a number of trial matches, with a view of representing the country in the upcoming regional competitions.
So though it is apparent who the final team could be made up of, it is not clear who will be the head coach.
In the past, the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) has juggled with a number of coaches who they employ at their Kensington Oval base. It went so far as the Director of Coaching, Henderson Springer, who also had his share with the big team. Other coaches such as Emmerson Trotman, Vasbert Drakes and Dexter Toppin have been used in one form or the other. However, the rotation policy that was used on occasions has not worked. The results are there to show that our senior team is not a settled one nor is the management a settled group.
Cricket sources indicate that the BCA will soon be looking for a head coach, who may have the sole responsibility of preparing the senior squad for all competitions.
And so the question to be asked is who will that person be? It appears that the administrators of our cricket are not satisfied with the situation that existed in 2013.
Time is short and it would have been in the BCA’s best interest to announce who the coaching panel will be or a head coach in order to avoid name calling. The naming of the coach would give that person a chance to look at those players who are presently on trial. To bring someone from the outside would put that person at a disadvantage.
System flawed
As for the selection of the teams, many have said that it should not be based only on statistics, as sometimes these can be misleading because they do not present the whole picture.
The BCA policy on the selection of all national teams, the selection of coaches and managers of these teams, should be under review.
In the past, some coaches were chosen, especially at the junior level, who did not observe junior cricket.
This past season, some of the national junior teams who were picked to represent the country were not chosen by those who were given that responsibility. The Selection Committee should be the only group entrusted with picking the best players available, to observe games which involve these players, and then choose the final squad without major input from other sources.
It appears that the present system of selection is flawed and should not continue in the 2014 season.
It is a joy to see that the senior team is back at trials and this is one step in the right direction. Trial games were a thing of the past and it is refreshing that someone has finally taken the decision that there must be a change.
Trial matches at every level should continue. In addition, not only coaches attached to the BCA should be the ones in charge of any national team.Too many of our cricketing people who are in the best position to manage our teams at all levels are often overlooked. The BCA from early should schedule trail matches, name those for trials early and identify the personnel of the management and coaching team.
The last minute policy should be no more. It is now up to our cricket administrators to prepare for the future, learning from the mistakes of the past.