Dear Editor,

At the beginning of every year,the convenient,and probably appropriate phrase pervading the air is "Happy New Year".To all readers,I extend same!! My enthusiasm about things to come, is tempered by the reality that after positive thoughts expressed,upward mobility and success,can only be achieved by similar commitment in action. It is amazing that persons who have not achieved much,if anything,during the previous year,are those who have the brightest outlook and the best sounding plans for the coming one.I refused to read the interview with GFF's head Colin Klass,because the caption "2001 was eventful year for football", suggests that no alarm bells are ringing in his brain. In other words, we mixed the good with the bad,and more likely than not,local football fans were satisfied. God bless Kashif and Shanghai!

The Tony Cozier article below, "Selecting different teams not unsurmountable task", and the adjacent " Caribbean Quarterly ceases publication ",are matters of concern however, bewilderment and disgust, in the first case, and utter disappointment in the latter. The chairman of selectors Mike Findlay has once again exhibited that he is certainly not at a loss for words, and will continue to bore us with his ramblings, or as we in Guyana say," nuff talks"! Mr. Findlay, apparently not sufficiently humbled by the indignities suffered by our team in recent times, is embarking enthusiastically on a seemingly dramatic "dovetail" plan ,to ensure that all bases are covered when the Senior and "A" sides are engaged at practically the same time in the coming year. "Superman" intimates that England is "only eight hours away" by non-stop flight to the Caribbean, so if an "A" team player is required for the home series for some reason, he could be quickly ready. Consider this, with weeks of training camp, and warm up matches, our senior players have not recently been "ready", physically(as evidenced by the unprecedented injury list) or mentally( Captain Hooper's famous "tail between our legs and hiding" statement), but Mr. Findlay suggests that "A" teamers will be ready at a flash!

There is a song which contains the following, "Nothing comes to sleepers, but a dream." There seems to be the distinct possibility that there's a great deal of sleeping taking place at the top of West Indies cricket, thus dreaming is commonplace. My good friend and schoolmate, coach Roger Harper, who I hope will avoid the slumber, made a passionate plea, for the bowling department to be "beefed up", and what is the first utterance subsequent to that plea? Yes, the shuffling between two teams, and their clinical dissections!!

If our dismal performances haven't touched a nerve in the WICB administration, and destroyed those of our "die hard" fans, they certainly have frayed those of the business community and would-be sponsors. The Caribbean Cricket Quarterly is ceasing publication after 11 years, as a result of, "loss of valued sponsorship, and the failure to gain a replacement that would guarantee the high standards of content and production which the publishers set for the magazine,". A development of this nature should be "front page" news in all West Indian newspapers!! Coming "hot on the heels" of the Sri Lanka blackout, the only regular publication covering West Indies cricket is "folding tent", this means that access to reliable cricketing stats and happenings, provided by none other than eminent journalist and broadcaster Tony Cozier, becomes more difficult for those who prefer good old-fashioned reading of magazines, to the complexities of the internet. Are these alarming occurrences not engaging the minds of Messrs. Findlay, Dehring and company? To this day, we haven't received plausible reasons concerning the Sri Lanka issue, such is the arrogance of these elected officials! The beginning of this new year gives one the impression that we're in for more of the same with the regular players making the headlines. Lynnsey Ward is asked to keep matters "in house", we need Brian!

Happy New Year to management and staff at Stabroek News! Oh ,by the way, did I mention that the irrepressible Austin "Jack" Warner,of Turkeyen infamy,has resigned as T&TFF's adviser and financier.