West Indies cricket is our pulse

Dear Editor,
After every FIFA World Cup and Summer Olympics I keep fantasising about a West Indian World Cup and Olympic team. I’m sure we’ll do pretty well as we did on the cricket stage. It just shows you that West Indies cricket has done a lot for us. Evo Morales, at the Summit of Americas in Port of Spain this year, said sport can unite the region. Again, West Indies cricket is proof of that.

But it is not just about sport. It is much more. A West Indian community can benefit from all the facets of modern life – social, economic and environmental development. One clear benefit is a bigger market that would trigger more regional manufacturing and fewer imports. We could even delve into specialist products and gain momentum on the global market. Items such as traffic lights, manhole covers, children’s play equipment and hospital beds can all be manufactured in the region. Shared resources in crime-fighting and traffic enforcement would always be welcomed. This is just to name a few of many.

We have the ingredients of a powerful concoction. The discipline of Barbadians, the pride of Jamaicans, the diligence of Guyanese, the enjoyment of life of Trinis with spices from the rest of the islands would surely create flavour the world would to savour.

I am sad to see some influential groups making moves to have a T&T cricket team or a Bajan team. That by itself would see the end of West Indies cricket. That would surely be a sad day. This move comes about because of problems and wrangling between the WICB and players. How on earth can a few months of discord jeopardise decades of glory? This is called ‘leaving the dirty kitchen to buy fast food.’ These are the people who only see the light of day and fail to see tomorrow.

West Indies cricket is our pulse. Regional integration is inevitable. For this to go ahead in a meaningful way it has to have a participatory approach free of politics. The politicians need to support the work and consultations, but in the interest of fair play they should at the same time remove themselves from the equation, unlike what the Prime Minister of T&T has been using as a ‘red herring’ for the last two years.
Yours faithfully,
Navin H Sankersingh