THOUGH only 17 years old and still at Kingston College (KC), Mr Robert Haynes was brimming with confidence, playing without fear, when he made his début in first-class cricket for Jamaica against Guyana on a bouncy Sabina Park pitch in March 1982.

The tall, slim teenager’s buoyant attitude reaped immediate and rich dividends with his leg breaks, delivered from a high action.

In the first innings of that début outing against Guyana Mr Haynes took five wickets, including that of West Indies captain and champion batsman Mr Clive Lloyd for zero.

In the second innings, he had six wickets for a match haul of 11 for 206 as Jamaica won by 52 runs.

Mr Haynes, on first-class début, was Man of the Match.

In his second game, also at bouncy Sabina Park and against the Leeward Islands led by Mr Vivian Richards — acclaimed among the top batsmen of all time — Mr Haynes was again Man of the Match with nine wickets as Jamaica romped to a 263-run victory.

The young leg spinner’s season tapered off after that spectacular start, but his stamp on Caribbean cricket had been indelibly made.

In a first-class career spanning 13 years and 65 matches Mr Haynes took 221 wickets. As a hard-hitting, lower-order batsman, he was good enough to average 21.66, with a highest score of 98.

Many will marvel that Mr Haynes never played Test cricket. The simple explanation was the bias towards the exceptional fast bowlers produced by the West Indies during his playing days.

As it was, he had to be content with playing eight One-Day Internationals for the West Indies.

An abiding servant of Jamaica and West Indies cricket, Mr Haynes would again make his mark as a youthful coach in 1998 — a role he relinquished in 2006 to take up duties with Cricket West Indies as a selector.

As senior national coach he had his successes, guiding Jamaica to titles in limited overs and first-class cricket. But perhaps his greatest contribution was to aid the development of talented players such as batsmen Messrs Christopher Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, et al, and high-quality fast bowlers, among them Messrs Franklyn Rose, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Jermaine Lawson, and Andrew Richardson.

Now, with Jamaica’s cricket at what is arguably its lowest ebb in living memory, Mr Haynes, at 59 years old, is back as head coach of the men’s national team.

Wisely, he speaks of the need for a “change of culture” that must embrace hard work, professionalism, trust, and two-way communication — not just among players and coaches, but also administrators.

This newspaper fully expects that as Mr Haynes takes charge of the Jamaica national team for the upcoming regional 50-over tournament and the four-day, first class season to follow, that instinctive self-belief which made him such a success as cricketer and youthful coach will be much to the fore.

We wish Mr Haynes, his coaching staff, and Chairman of Selectors Mr Delroy Morgan the very best in their quest to restore Jamaica to its rightful place as a cornerstone of West Indies cricket.