BRIDGETOWN, Sept 4: There are too many worrying signs in West Indies cricket distracting the players, and Sir Garry Sobers, the game’s greatest player, believes these off-the-field battles are hurting the team.

“West Indies cricket has suffered tremendously with all the interferences over the years and a team can never be balanced or can never work well with so many interferences,” Sir Garfield said when he was approached by the Daily Nation on Saturday after the funeral of Sir Clyde Walcott.

“The lads need time to grow and express themselves, not all these obstacles they are encountering. A team needs continuity and West Indies cricket really hasn't had the continuity in the last five or six years. They’ve been always problems one way or the other.

“We hope that they will be settled and you’ll see West Indies cricket back on the right path again. One hopes that West Indies cricket will rise again. They've got all the talent in the world, it’s just being able to put it in the right format and to be able to organise it properly and have everything in the right perspective.”

After Saturday's funeral at St Mary's Church, Sobers met with West Indies captain Brian Lara and the two discussed several issues in West Indies cricket including the upcoming tri-nation series in Malaysia.

West Indies leave on Wednesday for Kuala Lumpur where they will play the limited-overs series against India and Australia at the Kinrara Oval, which is set to have a capacity of close to 8000. All seven games will be day-night affairs.

Sobers, a former West Indies captain who scored 8 032 runs and took 235 wickets in 93 Tests, said he believed the current team was on its way up and would be a serious contender at next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean. —Agencies