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It's to the credit of good management that when a problem has been identified in the workplace, steps are taken to find a remedy.

In this regard the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) did the right thing by hosting a two-day workshop in Jamaica last week with its medical panel following the high incidence of injuries to players on recent tours to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

I think the board should benefit once it accepts the recommendations from the specialists in the field of sports medicine, physiotherapy and nutrition.

The workshop was attended by people such as Professor Peter Fletcher, chairman of the WICB medical panel; Professor Sam Headley, an exercise physiologist; Dr Akshai Mansingh an orthopaedic consultant, nutritionist Terrence Forrester; Dr Llewelyn Harper, sports medicine specialist; and Dr Aggrey Irons, a sports psychologist.

I think we would all agree that some practical solutions to prevention of injury in the first instance and the method of treatment, if any occurs, should have come forth from this expert group.

In a way though, it is sad such a workshop was convened after the fact because it is felt by the average layman that some of the injuries suffered by the players should have been identified before they travelled.

The consensus seems to be that there is a need for a thorough examination of the players before they are named in the playing party.

This becomes even more relevant if players are not as forthcoming as they ought to be about certain ailments they are bearing. Without a thorough test there are some things that might slip through.

On the other hand, there are times when players are passed fit even though they might be injured in the belief the injury won't be serious enough to hamper performance.

These are calculated gambles that may or may not stand up to rigid tests and scrutiny.

And there have been times in West Indies cricket when players have gone on tour known to be seriously injured; and this should not happen.

In any event, it will undermine their ability to perform at their best; and secondly this hurts the team because the aren't in a condition to give of their best.

Clearly though, the lessons should have been well learnt from the most recent experiences, and we can only hope there's no repeat.

That many injuries point negatively on all those involved, including the health professionals whose job it is to certify the players' fitness.

Fitness was a key in the West Indies success from the latter half of the 1970s through the entire '80s.

It will be central again to our efforts if we are to rise to the top of the tree once more.

© The Barbados Nation