THE painful reality is that the West Indies were swept 2-0 and 5-0 in the recent Twenty/20 and 50 overs cricket series against South Africa even though at various points in most of those games they were in good positions to win.

It came down to efficient execution at those critical moments. The South Africans came out on top on every occasion because they were far better prepared mentally, physically and technically.

West Indies cricket coach, Mr Otis Gibson apparently knew what he was getting into when he took on the job. Note his comment over recent days that “I didn’t expect us to start beating people overnight. It is a process, and once we put the right things in place, we will be getting there.”

Mr Gibson also says that the West Indies showed definite signs of improvement over the period of the limited overs series. That’s true. And given that he was part of the England coaching staff last year when West Indies shocked their highly favoured visitors to complete a 1-0 Test series victory, Mr Gibson may well be quietly harbouring thoughts of a similar upset in the upcoming three-Test series.

But even should the West Indies pull off an unlikely Test series win, it is important that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), with the support of the entire Caribbean, press forward with the requisite “process” that will eventually equip our players to consistently match the best in the world.

The launch tomorrow of the Sagicor West Indies Cricket Board’s High Performance Centre to refine the on-and-off field capacities of our best young cricketers is an extremely important step. It’s reflective of how far behind is the West Indies relative to the rest of the established cricketing world that this long-promised finishing school is just now being set up.

Readers may recall that in mid-2000s, a Shell-sponsored cricket academy in Grenada collapsed after just a couple of seasons.

On Monday, the High Performance Centre located at the 3Ws Oval of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus in Barbados will open its doors to 15 of the region’s top cricketers, aged 18 to 22.

The expectation is that this batch and those to follow will complete the course better prepared for competition at the highest level than would otherwise be the case.

Of course, this can’t be the end of the process. What’s to be done with these promising youngsters once they graduate? Only the very best will ever make the senior West Indies team, but a large reserve pool must be maintained. It’s imperative that those who wish to pursue their dream of a career in cricket be nurtured and encouraged.

We are buoyed by the revival of the ‘A’ team programme and the recent performances by West Indies ‘A’ against Zimbabwe ‘A’ in the Caribbean and away to Bangladesh ‘A’. We note that today the West Indies ‘A’ team begins a busy tour of England. Hopefully there will be much more of this and perhaps also a regional under-23 programme that has been talked about occasionally.

Most importantly though, the long promised professional cricket league for the Caribbean region can’t be delayed for much longer. The amateur approach is not sustainable in the modern world. By whatever means necessary, the WICB in partnership with the private sector and regional governments must map a route to professional cricket in all member territories. Included in that must be a strategy to involve the clubs which have been a mainstay of West Indies cricket since inception, but are now in disarray.

Ultimately, it’s professional arrangements for those on the field and those in coaching and administration which will save and sustain Caribbean cricket.