The Editor, Sir:

As a cricket lover and player, I have been paying attention with keen interest to the various conversations in the press and electronic media. I have observed with impetuous envy, the many prizes, trophies, gifts, cash and other accolades that Digicel and other sponsors have been dishing out to match winners with West Indies (WI) players, WI cricket management, Caribbean countries and fans mere observers.

Tom, Dick and Harry have expressed their views and diverse positions, some with blame pointing, explanations, apprehensions, appeals, excuses and some just stating their expectations. This letter is intended to lighten the decision that needs to be made very soon, as further delay in resolving the impasse is only likely to exasperate the situation, to our loss. Unlike many, I see eight sides, and not two, to this WI cricket impasse. There is the region, the individual countries, the game of cricket, the players, the management, the sponsors, the fans and the potential cricketers.

Cricket has been one of the few sparks that has kept the Caribbean shining as a region. Our repeated practice of doing our house cleaning in public view is not helping to push the blaze but to inflate the smoke. Smoke, as we all know, is a pollutant that destroys our vision, distorts our direction and gives our competitors time to take advantage of what we may have had or earned, making our return to 'normal' more difficult, in a time when our countries, our sponsors and our fans have limited resources and many other choices.

The game of cricket is often likened to our journey in real life, where we build up ourselves with skills as individual stars. But, in order to win the game in which we are not the only player, we must operate as a team where other members complement our weak-nesses and support and encourage us in those times when we would fall or fail. We need our communities, countries, our region and our fans. If we cannot work as a team, the one-man star would be better off choosing boxing, dominoes or chess, instead of cricket. Team work means 'together everyone achieves more' and being a 'star is much better when our team wins'.

To the management and the players, when we fix our postures and positions as we seem to be doing now, we are being less than strategic. We can't sustain a winners' culture if we are not thinking and acting strategically. We need always keep in mind the bigger picture which revolves, not just around two sides but eight in this case.

Stop and think

WI cricket cannot afford to turn off its fans, or dampen the spirit and game of cricket in the Caribbean. And we cannot convey disarray to those young, impressionable minds that are so desperately searching for opportunities, a vocation, employment options and models of behaviour.

I urge all parties to stop and think again. I urge governments of the region to stop and rethink their roles in resolving this impasse. I urge the board of management and the players' association as well as all of us to restart the cricket without conditions, and that all the parties immediately engage in a process to resolve the outstanding issues in the best long-term interest of all eight sides, and not just two.

I am, etc.,

EARLE TAYLOR

etglobal@yahoo.com