St. John;s Antigua- Ex-Windies wicketkeeper/batsman, Ridley Jacobs, believes that former players are not being given a fair opportunity to assist with bringing West Indies cricket back to its former glory.

The left-handed batsman who made his Test debut on November 26, 1998 against South Africa, said former players like himself comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience that could prove beneficial to current and future players.

“I don’t know if they feel threatened by past players. Because we have been there, we have the experience and the know-how on what to do to get these guys to perform at the highest level. I think that a lot of these administrators need to get us more involved so that we can demonstrate our skills to develop better players,” he said.

Jacobs, who resides in Swetes Village, went on to express confidence in the current crop of wicketkeepers being utilised by the regional squad, but urged them to believe in themselves.

“The guys that I have seen, Carlton Baugh, (Denesh) Ramdin and the stuff they have, they are very talented. I think those guys just need to back-up and put their heads down and bat. Playing Test cricket is not easy and people are going to be there watching you and looking for your every fault and try to capitalise on those weak areas so you have to be up to that and improve on your weaknesses and when you get an opportunity, do well,” he said.

Jacobs, who also featured in the record breaking 375 not out by Brian Lara back in 1994, was recently appointed head coach of the Antigua & Barbuda senior team, a challenge he said he has been looking forward to for quite some time.

Jacobs represented the Leeward Islands in regional first class cricket from the 1991 to the 2005. He also played 65 Tests for the West Indies from 1998 to 2004. He also played 147 One-Day Internationals for the Windies.