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I would like to join those who have already congratulated the authorities at the St. George's University for setting up the first official cricket academy in the Caribbean.

In the glory days this may not have been necessary because we not only produced players with natural ability but those who had a love for the game and the the region at heart.

Their first personal victory was to be selected to wear the West Indies colours.

There was so much pride in the achievement that that factor alone helped pushed the players to play with greater professionalism, ever mindful they were carrying the hopes of over five million people with their performances.

It was an ideal, a real value that assisted in taking West Indies cricket to the top, especially in the mid-'70s and the throughout the 1980s.

In addition, of course, almost all of the great players had the opportunity to develop a more rounded game by plying their trade in county and league cricket in England and a few had the chance to play in Australia state cricket as well. These doors are now closed.

Consequently, we have to find other ways which will help initially to revive our national pastime, and then once we have cleared that hurdle, serve to take it back to the top of the tree.

It will take time and it will take a studied and strategic process to achieve the success we would like to see. This means, too, that it will take patience.

So, we can conclude that the cricket academy has come at the right time.

The academy, we understand, is well equipped to assist in the development of the younger players.

However, for the programmes to be successful I believe that much care must be paid to the fact that we are living in different times and have to design programmes that will be compliant with ever-changing circumstances and attitudes.

Cultural penetration made its mark several years ago with the growth of technology and this has served to diversify the interests of our people where there are now many more choices in sports.

There is, of course, globalisation and I duly expect this will again have serious impact on the psyche of our people especially the impressionable youth.

And while I believe that the majority will have the the right analytical mind to make the right decisions that will forever influence the course of their lives, there are some who will fall by the wayside.

I say that to say the true success of the new cricket academy will rely heavily on the ability of its tutors to work on the mental and psychological toughness of their charges.

We must be able to redirect our youths thinking towards the true meaning of West Indian cricket and the pride in representing the region.

© The Barbados Nation