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Many Bermudians are ashamed and angered by Bermuda's most recent thrashing by Guyana at the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament in Antigua on Sunday February 10th 2008, a match which I attended in my capacity as the Junior Minister of Sport.



On the night before the match, I had the opportunity to speak with the Bermuda Coach, the Team Captain, and some of the team players for the purpose of a critical analysis of the team's prospects for success. I also engaged in conversation with the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control, Vice President, Sir Vivian Richards, Courtney Walsh, and Courtney Ambrose, all of whom had a view and opinion of the present state of Cricket in Bermuda.



Performance



Most Bermudians want success and victory without truly understanding what it takes to make a champion. We want the first place blue ribbon, without the sacrifice, commitment and dedication that it takes to obtain the coveted first place prize.



To perform well (i.e. to win major sporting events) there must be a commitment to excellence and an infrastructure in place to harness and train athletes. The financial support of sport is not enough. We must support with training, mentorship and proper administration.



I received a text whilst in Antigua at the match which read, "....what a ridiculous and embarrassing performance!..." to which I responded " ...easy for you to say as you watch from your lazy boy chair on a 42 inch plasma television...".



Tools for Success

As many of us know, our under 19 Cricket team is presently playing in the World Cup in Malaysia. Notably, several of our more talented and experienced players were unable to travel with the 20/20 team to Antigua. Some employers would not grant permission to players who would allow them to miss work and travel with the team to the 20/20 Match. I am told that when some talented players were approached they were simply disinterested in representing Bermuda at the 20/20 Match. We had one or two talented players suspended and I am further advised (without official confirmation) that some players were ineligible because of failed drug tests. Please be advised that eight (8) of our players had never played an International Match before Sunday's Match.



Many of the other teams in the Stanford 20/20 tournament have been training for over seven (7) months for the tournament. Most teams have the best players from their country on their team and they are full time players. Playing cricket is their only form of employment.



Our team commenced training three weeks before the tournament and they only had one practice match prior to the game against Antigua.



3rd Richest Country in the World per Capita - So What!?



We often brag that we are the 3rd richest country in the world, per capita. So what!? We boast that we have an abundance of off shore banks and re-insurance companies in Bermuda, yet somehow we have lost sight of the basics. We have left the very model that made us strong and that formed the basis and foundation of our success. We have forgotten, discipline, hard work and mentorship! In our quest for all things financial we have forgotten to build a culture that is centered on the development of our youth. We want success and high achievers, without the infrastructure and rubrics for success.



I spoke casually with a player from Guyana (who won the last Stanford 20/20 on the last occasion) he informed me that the prize money changed his family's life. He went on to tell me that the sport of cricket was his only direct route out of poverty. This is illustrative of the contrast between overseas professional athletes, who are driven because they are starving for success while Bermudians are not even hungry! We play games as opposed to sport. We do not plan to win, instead, we expect to win and without planning we are falling short of our expectations every time.



The 20/20 Team is a Mirror of Bermuda and our non-committed culture



As per normal, I am sure that the typical talk show junkies will call up and chastise the 20/20 players and the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control and even the Bermuda Government. But this most recent sporting debacle goes far deeper. Yes, each of the above-named entities must shoulder a portion of the blame for Sunday's loss. Yes, there is a clear disconnect between the Players and the Bermuda Cricket Board of Control, and, yes, we need a full time facility where our cricketers can train. Accordingly, a financial infrastructure that can support full time athletes is required. This, however, is not enough.



The economic realities play a role as well. What the international viewing audiences were not told was that our players live in a country where the average player will never be in a financial position to purchase a home in Bermuda unless they get a gift. They were not told that most of the best players could not leave their jobs to travel to play for Bermuda and that with the chance of winning one million dollars (prize money for winning the 20/20), the cost of living in Bermuda is so high, the players can't take such a gamble. We are fighting to survive here and sports is the last thing on anybody's mind. The size of our talent pool is another consideration we are competing against countries which are on average 100 times larger than we are. We can't under estimate the effect that such a resource pool has on its selection process this is all the more reason why we need to invest in what we do have so that it is refined and competitive.



We need a society that breeds hope and belief. I looked in the eyes of the supporters from Guyana, they believed in their team. On the night of the "game" they cheered as if their very existence depended on the outcome of the game. They painted their faces, they wore their flag, simply they believed that they could win and the whole country rallied behind their team!



As a country we do not have a common aim, we do not rally behind our athletes, and as a matter of fact, we do not have passion for ANYTHING!



I was annoyed when I read that former Cricket Players are calling talk shows and speaking to the media about the shortcomings of the team. What are they doing to develop the sport in Bermuda? How are you helping to mentor, guide and train young men and women to reach their potential?



We have become experts in criticism and cynicism but we do nothing to fill a void or make a difference. Many of us thought we were being patriotic just by watching the game. Nonsense, we must get off the proverbial couch, and get on to the pitch and mentor, coach, train and lead our young men on to success. Winning is a way of life, it is not an event!!



We are obliged to compare our national development and our cultural history with our competitors and we don't have to travel afar to do this because our competitors are right here in our country working and competing. This is more than an issue of cricket performance, it is about a country and its people. We have a unique set of problems because the passion for survival which comes from poverty is what drives most of our under-developed neighbors. It is the competition for control and cultural confidence in ones country that makes our wealthy developed competitors superior, in this sense. We have to find a way to stimulate the poor people living in a wealthy country to be engaged in a quest for survival or control. Either way, there is a passion which fosters discipline.



Sport is one of the very few ways that we can heal the social divide in our country. We have the resources and we have the aptitude. We must harness the talent and train our young men and give them the discipline and the character that will allow them to succeed in both sports and in life!



We must develop character and teach our youths the value of sacrifice by holding them accountable for both their successes and for failures. We must support our leaders. We must mentor and challenge our young. Only when we have developed our young men and our young women can we then expect for them to play on an international stage and have the tools to win international competitions. We must stop the public display of anger and accept our role in developing young people. It is our way of life that was publicly humiliated on Sunday night and trust me, we all should be ashamed.



But it is not too late, we have the opportunity to change and develop young people. We can all make changes in our own disciplines whether it is sport, education, professionally or through our churches, we must all engage in developing young people. We must all develop a sense of National Pride that goes further than the waving of a flag and transcends nationalism. We must evolve, as a people, the fundamental belief that we are great with an intrinsic value that is able to compete and successfully challenge anyone, anywhere in the world.



We must be aware, however, that the country can only develop what you give us. Take time to love and discipline your child. Let them earn their money and expose them to healthy entertainment which develops character. Simplify their lives and avoid the corrupting influence of the media and the moral decay of the pop culture. Integrate them into sports starting from an early age, include music lessons into their curriculum, and sign them up to the library. Stop buying clothes and start buying books. We have a lot of work to do towards their development and we have only just begun. Let's not overly criticize our performance, for it is just a reflection of where we are in national growth and development.

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