Many Jamaican cricket followers, more especially those with only limited digital connectivity in Hurricane Melissa-ravaged western Jamaica, may well have missed it. But Mr Vitel Lawes, the only Jamaican in the West Indies 15-man squad at the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup in Namibia and Zimbabwe, was among the top players of the tournament.

In fact, Mr Lawes, a left-arm wrist spinner who turns 19 years old next month, was named in the ICC’s Team-of-the-Tournament after gaining acclaim as being among the best spinners at the age-group World Cup.

Clearly a good communicator, Mr Lawes tells us that he was struggling with self-doubt and in danger of falling by the wayside after poor results against Sri Lanka in a series late last year. Then everything turned around following intervention by spin-bowling coach and fellow Jamaican Mr Nikita Miller.

Mr Lawes told our reporter that “He [Miller] took me from a place of uncertainty — I was very demotivated… when we started working together. But he took me under his wings and motivated me and gave me confidence in my ability.”

Having taken just one wicket against Sri Lanka, Mr Lawes came out as the leading wicket-taker in a follow-up series against England. And while the pitches in southern Africa turned out to be more conducive to pace bowling than spin, Mr Lawes, guided by his coach, worked harder to spin the ball to reap rewards.

“…I had to put more revs on the ball and engage my wrists more,” he explained.

As is often the case in sport, Mr Lawes tells us that a close partnership with a teammate, Antiguan Mr Micah McKenzie, was a big help.

“He [McKenzie] created pressure [on batsmen] at times that helped me to get [wickets],” Mr Lawes, a student of St Jago High and member of St Catherine Cricket Club, said.

For some observers, the West Indies Under-19s — who were defeated by Australia to be eliminated at the Super Six (second round) stage — underachieved. Yet, after defeating Tanzania and losing to Afghanistan, the Caribbean side improved significantly, beating Ireland and South Africa before running Australia very close.

As head coach, Barbadian Mr Rohan Nurse suggested earlier this month, high-quality performances reflected rich talent. Said Mr Nurse: “I am certain we have identified some players who we can definitely say, ‘This guy is worth the investment… going forward, and I’m quite happy with that.”

That need for investment at the grass roots level to “bridge the gap” between youth and senior level was recently underlined by Mr Miller, who played a single Test match for the West Indies in 2009 and flourished as a white ball international cricketer between 2008 and 2018. He called for all “stakeholders, Cricket West Indies, … fans, everybody” to unite and “keep pushing, because we can’t allow [West Indies] cricket to die”.

Is there the will to save West Indies cricket?

It’s a question all West Indians, not least regional governments and corporations, need to honestly ask themselves.

No doubt, good results for the senior men at the ongoing ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup will help the cause. Beyond that, though, we contend, as we always have, that West Indies cricket — an extraordinary project that has led the way in keeping the people of the English-speaking Caribbean like family for more than a century — is well worth saving.