The time for West Indies cricket to be restored to its former glory and prestige is long overdue . . . according to former Test wicketkeeper and president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board Deryck Murray.

Flanked in the president's box by several local cricket dignitaries, the 62-year-old executive took time out yesterday to speak with while his fellow Trinidadians all but booked a berth in the Carib Beer Shield final in overcast conditions at Guaracara Park.

"We have seen ourselves go from the new boys in Test cricket to the the very pinnacle, being number one the world. But now we are on a very depressing downward spiral and need to arrest that decline and climb the ladder again," said the softly-spoken Murray just as Trinidadian skipper Daren Ganga punched a ball through the covers to take his individual tally to 99 and his team to a commanding 401-run second innings lead over Junior Murray's Windward Islands with five wickets in hand.

The home team, playing without the injured Brian Lara, had earlier begun the day poised at 171 for three, a lead of 295.

Deryck Murray, a member of Clive Lloyd's victorious 1975 and 1979 World Cup squads, urged his fellow countrymen to play their part in the restoration of West Indies cricket.

"I would like to see us play a leading role in terms of being able to put our own local cricket on a stronger footing and also be a part of short and long term plans to get West Indies back to where it belongs," he said.

In 1963 Murray set a West Indies wicketkeeper's record for the most dismissals (24 ? 22 catches and two stumpings) in a Test series in England, a record that still stands to this day.

Last February Trinidad's senior national team won the Carib Beer Series, their first triumph in a regional four-day tournament in 21 years. Trinidad's Under-15 national squad have won the West Indies Under-15 Regional Tournament four times in the past six years, while their Under-19 squad are two-time defending regional limited overs and three-day league champions.

Part of Trinidad's present success can be directly attributed to the timely inception of the Frank Worrell Development Centre ? home for Bermuda's senior national squad over the next ten days ? named in honour of the former West Indies Test skipper.

"We use the facility strictly for developmental purposes," explained Dudnath Ramkessoon, vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board. "We have programmes there for youngsters at different age groups (under 13 and 19) and of course various other facilities."

Those facilities include indoor and outdoor nets, bowling machines, a gym, a spacious and well manicured oval in addition to a dining room and a dormitory large enough to accommodate 22 people.

Roland Sampard is the facility's manager who works closely with former West Indies Test all-rounder Bernard Julian.

"Prior to when our national teams play in regional tournaments they spend time at the facility and work on things such as team strategies," added Ramkessoon. The West Indies Under-19 team, captained by Trinidadian Jason Mohammed, used the facility earlier this year to help prepare for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Mohammed, 19, scored a maiden first class century (124 not out) in only his second match playing for Trinidad at Guaracara Park on Friday, rescuing his team from a precarious 42 for five in their Carib Shield semi-final against Windward Islands.

And Ramkessoon reckons there's even more talent to come.

"If you look at our senior national team you will find a very young group of players," he said. "And a lot of them will be on the West Indies Test team in the very near future."

Another building right next door to the Frank Worrell Development Centre houses the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board headquarters, heavily guarded by aggressive wasps.

The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board consists of 45 members, among them representatives from the five zones (central, south, south-east, north and north-east) responsible for administering cricket domestically.

The central cricket zone, headed up by Mishri Lutchmedial, has a reputation for producing some of the best cricketers to represent the oil rich Caribbean island located only seven miles from the coast of Venezuela.

"The Frank Worrell Development Centre is well known in the Caribbean and is one of the better facilities around," Ramkessoon said.

Barbados and Trinidad presently have an exchange programme that helps to expose junior cricketers to playing on foreign territory against competitive opposition. Oddly enough, the facility has been named in honour of a player who turned out for rivals Barbados.

"Frank is not only recognised because he is a Bajan, but because of the tremendous work he did to help bring West Indies cricket to the fore," Ramkessoon said.

Bermuda's team, who arrived in Trinidad last night, will hold an indoor session at the Frank Worrell cricket facility today. The local squad also trained at the facility last spring in preparation for the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland.

Bermuda are scheduled to play their opening 50-overs friendly against Clark Road United on Wednesday.

The Island's Under-15 national squad returned to Bermuda on Saturday night from a similar training exercise at the Frank Worrell Development Centre that BCB executive Allen Richardson labelled as a "roaring success".