ST JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):

Former Leeward Islands skipper Wilden Cornwall says fresh ideas are needed in order to revitalise the ailing game in the sub-region.

He was speaking against the backdrop of the latest heavy loss for Leeward Islands who went down by an innings and 10 runs to Guyana Jaguars in the opening round of the WICB Professional Cricket League last weekend.

Cornwall, who has applied for the job of Leewards coach, says it was now evident it could not be business as usual.

"You got to get some licks and you have to rebuild Leeward Islands cricket and that's my way to go. Other players might feel hard done because of the changes, but changes have to be made," Cornwall said.

"We cannot sit back and continue getting licks with the same set of players over and over. It's not that I am going to go in there and throw away everybody."

"Secondly, I would make sure that Leeward Islands cricket, from the grassroots level, is structured properly because we need players to come through."

Leeward Islands cricket has gone into slump over the last decade, with their squad now languishing at the bottom of the standings during recent first-class season.

From the days of the halcyon days of the legendary Sir Curtly Ambrose, Sir Richie Richardson and Stuart Williams, the Leewards are now a side struggling to put together a quality team.

Cornwall, who scored nearly 2,000 runs with three centuries and grabbed 106 wickets in 53 first-class games, believes preparation for major tournaments remains a big issue.

"We have just finished a tournament which, for me, wasn't satisfactory enough when preparing for a tournament of this magnitude," he argued.

The Leewards will host Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in their next match starting Friday in St Kitts.