Talking to Toby Radford, the English coach of the West Indies High Performance team, is almost exactly the same as talking to Bermuda head coach David Moore.

Bermuda and the West Indies have always had a close relationship as far as cricket goes, but the similarities between the two countries in terms of the decline of their national teams is startling.

Those similarities extend beyond the results on the field, and the two coaches' jobs are almost identical in the problems they face, the changes they are trying to make and the obstacles they must overcome.

From changing a culture, to making the sport more professional, to realising the natural talent available isn't being harnessed as well as it might be, and battling naysayers, Radford and Moore are like two peas in a pod.

Radford though has one thing that Moore doesn't, he has the financial backing of a full Test nation. He also has a West Indies Cricket Board who have finally come to terms with the fact that things cannot go on as they have been.

"I think that there is a realisation that they (the West Indies) have got to do something," said Radford. "And they have seen around the world that the Australian academy has made a difference, in England the academy was set up eight-ten years ago and look at the difference that has made.

"Everyone in the West Indies looks back to the halcyon days of (Clive) Lloyd, (Viv) Richards, all these greats and are saying 'where has our game gone'. They are desperate for success and they have realised that they have got to invest at the grassroots level.

"It (the HPC) is certainly a response to trying to get back to where they were. Everyone realises there is huge natural talent, a lot of these lads came from the Under-19 side that got to the semi-final of the World Cup, so we know there is quality here. It's what happens between the Under-19s and the Test team."

It was from this backdrop that the High Performance Centre in Barbados was born. Here Radford has been able to put his current crop of youngsters through an intensive three-month programme that focused on all aspects of the game from skill, to tactics, to fitness.

"I've no doubt that it's like what David (Moore) is trying to do in Bermuda," said Radford. "It's about creating a work ethic, a professionalism, that they maybe haven't had before in their territories, or coming through the system at all.

"If you're going to compete on the world stage, and be in the main West Indies team, and a successful one, then this is what you are going to need to do."

And like David Moore, he is learning that it isn't just the culture of the players that he has to change, but the culture of the game, and the region's approach to it.

"You live under a microscope," said Radford. "The minute I landed at Barbados, at the airport the immigration people have a view on cricket, the taxi driver has a view, everyone has got a view on cricket and where West Indies is going wrong. I think there are some people in the West Indies who would like to see us fail, they enjoy knocking the WICB."

It is with the players that Radford started though, and after three months of intensive work, which began in June, when the entire 15-man squad lived together in one house in Barbados, he is starting to see some results.

"Over three months we have covered a lot," he said. "They have found it very intense, but I'd like to think now that they have a better understanding of their own game, their own strengths and weaknesses, and I think they've also acquired an element of professionalism. I'm very strict on time-keeping, that they become self-starters.

"I kept saying when I first came in that if we had a day that was rained off, back home in England or in South Africa, guys would be in the gym, using their time. I've seen at the end of three months they are starting to build towards that."

The current intake are on two-year contracts, and have a year to go before the next batch arrive. In the future, Radford wants them on one-year deals, so that those that aren't making the grade can be cut.

"What the WICB have done now is give these guys retainers so that they are now paid for the next year, which is brilliant, because it's great for them because they have guaranteed income, while I can say to them 'you're professional now and you have got to turn up fit, and you have got to be training'.

"As a coach though I would like the freedom to cut someone if they are not pulling their weight, or don't have the ability. You want to keep strengthening, and going forward, and if somebody isn't working as hard as they should you can get rid of them and that sends a signal.

"This is a professional sport. It's a tough school. If you don't work, you're out, but that's life."