By Jonteau Coppin
Former Barbados all-rounder Franklyn Stephenson says the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) is to blame for the limited opportunities available to young local cricketers, and the reason why many are migrating to further their cricketing careers.
Stephenson told Barbados TODAY that he currently has about sixty young enthusiastic children at his academy who love cricket and want to be successful at it. But he added there were so many “dead ends” to progressing in the island, that many of the youngsters saw their future as being outside of Barbados. “We have about three players from the academy that are naturalising (in England) and I’m looking to get another five or six out as soon as possible because the things that are happening here are not conducive to their cricket at all,” he said.
His comments come after England Under-19 opener Jacob Bethell, who was one of the stars of the recently concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup hosted in the Caribbean, stated in an interview with the British media, that he took the tough decision to represent England instead of the region of his birth, because of the comparative abundance of opportunities in the United Kingdom. Bethell, who is a product of Stephenson’s cricket academy, and who played Under-13 cricket for Barbados, told the BBC that there were few opportunities in his homeland at the 13 to 15 age group. “I was born in Barbados, I lived there until I was 13, my parents still live there now. It’s not a bad place to grow up, the weather’s always nice and the people are lovely. It’s just a shame that the opportunities get less and less after around the ages of 13 to 15. . .There were definitely players out there that had a bit about them, but they no longer play much as there wasn’t really much cricket to play,” he told the British press.
Stephenson further explained that local cricketers who actually get selected to represent their nation and the West Indies at youth level were actually at a disadvantage when it came to developing their game and seeking opportunities overseas.
“Right now, our kids are being targeted. England has put laws in place that hamstring our good young talent because professionals who represent Barbados or the West Indies at Under-17 or Under-19 level cannot get a pass to play club cricket in England. The guys that miss out on selection are in a better position to further their careers and nothing has been done locally about it and to address that. We have a young man, Jaden Leacock, who was the MVP in all the youth levels growing up from the Under-15 to the Under-17 representing Barbados and the West Indies. He was Bethell’s partner and actually outshone Bethell growing up. But West Indies thought it best to leave him out of their Under-19 team. Now Bethell has announced himself on the international stage and Jaden is down here looking for his next step in cricket, maybe needing to get himself a job,” Stephenson said.
He stated the BCA has total responsibility for the development of cricket in Barbados but in his estimation has failed. He said that young players needed far more exposure to cricket and the schedule and rules should be adjusted to accommodate this at all levels.
“These boys should be playing one game among themselves mid-week and be in their community cricket teams every weekend whether that be their BCL teams or otherwise, rather than one team having fifteen to sixteen boys and some sit down for the whole competition. That would allow for a feeder system. We used to just develop our cricket in the communities and now they’re asking under 11s to come to Kensington Oval to have a look at them – which is a lot of nonsense,” he said.
Stephenson, who in his heyday was one of the most outstanding cricketers on the England county circuit as well as top flight cricket in South Africa, added: “We all have that dream of seeing West Indies cricket do what it did in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s but I believe that dream has been drowned by egotistical and facetious people who saw the prominence of the stars of that time and wanted to be a part of it but the only way they could get in was to be a member of the board or get elected in another capacity. I can’t blame them (BCA) for trying but it’s like the blind leading the blind, there’re no ideas to carry things forward. From the picking of the team to youth development and coaching methods, we are so far behind the eight ball.”
