Like all supporters of the West Indies cricket team, I am dismayed at what has become of our beloved sport. With every incident we think we have reached rock bottom and there is no way things can get worse, only to find that the next problem is just a few weeks away.

A few weeks ago Jimmy Adams was on KLAS during the afternoon programme taking calls about the state of cricket in the Caribbean. A number of callers said they would not be returning to Sabina Park to watch international cricket until the West Indies Cricket Board and the players started to behave like professionals. The fact that the first and third one-day internationals against India could only draw a few hundred spectators should indicate that the public is no longer willing to spend hard-earned cash to support unprofessional behaviour.

The consensus among the cricket fans with whom I have spoken is that the current cricket board is incompetent and has no clue how to take the game forward. The abandonment of Test matches because of unfit fields, the selecting of average players for teams, starting international matches without proper uniforms for the players, and the fact that they have never been successful in arbitration with the players are just a few of the things that show that there is something seriously wrong with the board.

The current set of players and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) are seen as a set of overrated, overpaid mercenaries, seeming to want every cent that the board makes for themselves without any thought of the quality of their performance or the development of cricket in the region. They seem not to understand that their attitude is helping to turn spectators away from the sport, thereby reducing the ability of the board to pay them more.

I really hope that the West Indies Cricket Board, WIPA, the regional boards, the players and everyone else who have a stake in the development of cricket in the region will start working together to return some joy to cricket fans in the Caribbean.

I am, etc.,

ERROL C. KELLY

Tonyk5493@hotmail.com