Kenny Benjamin wants more two-day cricket in Leeward Islands

Feb 19, 2015 Sports

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Backs Cameron for WICB Presidency

By Sean Devers in Antigua
In Association with Western Union
John Fernandes Ltd &
Meet Your Match Dating Service

Former West Indies and Leeward Islands fast bowler Kenny Benjamin, who captured 403 wickets from 108 First-Class matches after making his debut at this level in 1989, provided his thoughts on several issues that have contributed to the dismal showing of the Leewards team in the recent past.
The 47-year-old Benjamin was speaking as an Analyst on the Antigua Broadcasting Service (ABS) during a live Radio commentary of the match between Guyana Jaguars and the Hurricanes on Sunday.
Antigua alone has produced outstanding West Indian players Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose and Ridley Jacobs, but Leeward Islands cricket has declined to the point where they have lost every one of its six Four-Day matches so far inside three days.
Benjamin believes the Leewards continue to struggle because of inconsistency among their batsmen who are not equipped with the temperament to bat for an entire day. Apart from Guyanese Shiv Chanderpaul, this is a big problem throughout the West Indies.
“The problem is both mental and technical. Antigua is the only Leeward Island territory that plays two-day cricket and that continues to be the biggest problem for Leewards cricket,” Benjamin said.

He feels that the Franchise system is a good thing. “The Franchise system should allow more players who have not yet played at the highest level to focus more of their time on cricket since they are now getting a monthly salary just to play cricket. This should make them more professional players since cricket has now become their job. They will now have the time to practice and train more because most of these guys have to work outside of cricket to earn a living,” Benjamin who played 26 Tests and 26 ODIs for the West Indies in an International career that spanned from 1992-1998, added.
Benjamin said he was supporting incumbent West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President Jamaican Dave Cameron for another two-year term at the helm of West Indies Cricket.
The Leewards Islands Cricket Association, the Guyana Cricket Board and Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board are throwing their support behind Cameron although former Test pacer Andy Roberts (who like Benjamin, does not have voting rights) says he is supporting his former West Indies fast bowling team mate Joel Garner for the job.
Garner will challenge Cameron for the Presidency in what is expected to be a closely contested fight when the WICB holds its Annual General Meeting on March 7, 2015 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
“I am backing Cameron since he is doing the things he said he would, like introducing franchise cricket at First-Class level. I hope if he wins we would see more emphasis placed on the developmental stage of our cricket. I also would like to see Garner work along with Cameron to bring the cricketing side to the table,” Benjamin noted.

The Windward Islands Cricket Association, the Barbados Cricket Association and the Jamaica Cricket Association are backing Barbadian Garner in the race for the top spot on the WICB.
Meanwhile, the seventh round fixture between the Leewards and the Windwards Islands which was set for Antigua from Friday has now been shifted to St Lucia because the Stadium has been closed for renovations to the stands.
But Benjamin feels that the work beyond the boundary should not have affected the staging of a Regional game here this weekend. The renovations are being done in preparations for the Test series between West Indies and England. The opening Test will be played here from April 13.
Benjamin said the renovations of the stands won’t affect the cricket on the ground.
“I don’t see that (renovations) as a problem because nothing is wrong with the playing area and you won’t get a large crowd now for matches at this level,” Benjamin reasoned.
The Jaguars/Hurricanes match was switched from St Kitts, which held its National Elections Tuesday, the designated final day of the Four-Day contest.
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a stadium that was built for the 2007 Cricket World Cup and has a seating capacity of 10,000.
The stadium is 20 minutes from the capital city, St. John’s and the venue cost approximately US$60 million to build, with the majority of the funds coming from a Chinese Government grant.
In 2008, the roof of the South Stand was damaged by high winds and other facilities include Floodlights for night matches, a practice pitch, training infrastructure and a media centre. This Stadium is one of the few state-of-the-art venues that encompass underground passageways for the teams to move about.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) constructed the Stadium, the new airport terminal and the Five Islands Secondary School and is in charge of the renovations of Antigua’s only International Cricket venue.

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