Submitted by Wayne Cadogan
As far back as the late 80’s I have been addressing the issue of the structure of the West Indies Cricket Board and how it should be restructured. I guess since I am not seen as a cricketer or one who has played test cricket, that I do not qualify to speak on cricket matters as it appears that only those who have played regional or test cricket are qualified to run the affairs of West Indies Cricket. Because of this mentality, this is why West Indies Cricket now finds itself in this a quandary today. I have stated on previous occasions West Indies Cricket is a business and should be structured in the same manner that a company. The manner in which the current Board is structured and managed is very archaic and has been in dire need of revamping for many years to bring it in line to how a professional sports team functions. What West Indies cricket needs is a Sports Manager who is responsible for the day to day operations of cricket, he alone is responsible for the contracting of players, staff, hiring and firing. The West Indies team should be a core of 15 to 18 players and assigned to one or two year contracts when selected for the team as well as the coaching staff and can be fired for non performance or any disciplinary action. Of course, the Manager will also have the regular office support team to handle other duties.
First, one needs to look at the reasons why West Indies Cricket has been on a downward slide after being the dominant force in world cricket for over 15 years and is now just smouldering ashes. Outside of the Board, it appeared some of the other top test playing teams were out to bring down West Indies Cricket especially one team in particular whose fast bowlers were once the most feared at that time before the great West Indian fast bowlers came on the scene. It seems that the West Indies fast bowlers were targeted, first it was the one bouncer per player in an over rule that was brought into to play because of the devastating fast bowlers that the West Indies possess at that time to quell the four prong attack.
That was the beginning of the downward slide of West Indies cricket to which they never achieved that level of dominance after that era. Then one young fast bowler by the name Jermaine Lawson came on the scene and in 2003 against Bangladesh took 6/3 in his third test match and a hat trick against Australia in the 2003/2004 series and a haul of 7/78 that helped the West Indies to defeat Australian in the final Test of that series. He would later be reported to the ICC in May of 2003 for an illegal action. Over the years a number of test players from all the test teams were known to be chucking but were never called with the exception of one, so much that the rule was even change to accommodate one particular player. In steps a young spin bowler in Sunil Narine, who is now seen as a threat to world cricket and more so a threat to bring West Indies cricket back to the heights of its glory days of dominance along with the other young gifted fast bowlers. It is very strange that Sunil Narine was called in India before the West Indies tour of India and the upcoming World Cup!
The current impasse between the West Indies Cricket Board, WIPA and the players should never have occurred in the first place, if the West Indies Cricket Board was operating in a business-like manner and not in an unprofessional manner. The Board is fully at fault since they are the employers and the players are the employees. First, the players should never have left the Caribbean without a contract, especially if they all had a Sports Agent to represent them, this would not have occurred. A lawyer is not a Sports Agent and should not be representing any cricketer unless it was in regards to a legal matter. The Board knew of this tour over a year ago or more and contracts should have been signed long before in order that if there were any discrepancies, that they would have been rectified in the Caribbean. Despite the salary problems, which was a gross insult to the players to take away 75% of their salary is wrong; the players could have handled the matter differently by forcing the Board’s hands before the start of the game by not starting the game. What the players did was wrong as it was a matter for the Board to resolve and not one for the players. The players put the game into disrepute and single handily destroyed West Indies Cricket image which was an embarrassment to all West Indians and was not in the true spirit of the game.
As a result of the player’s actions, this has caused West Indies cricket to slip further down into the ashes that they are already in like quicksand. A few years ago the ICC were mulling over a two-tier system and had hinted about splitting up the test teams into two levels and this provides another opportunity for the ICC to further keep West Indies cricket in the cellar. I personally do not believe that Bravo should have been selected captain of any West Indies teams in the first place after he enlightened us a few years ago that IPL cricket was first, Trinidad second and then West Indies cricket. This showed that it was all about the money, which I definitely have no problem with, but Mr. Bravo and all the other West Indian players have to realize that it is because of West Indies cricket that they were given the opportunity to showcase their talent to the world and their worth. The West Indies Cricket Board over the years have been making blunders after blunders and it was only a matter of time before that it all came to a head. The reason for this is that the Board always appeared to operate as a one man show similar as to that as to how single proprietor operates a business.
This current impasse was not the first time that the West Indies Cricket Board was involved in a boycott and it seems as if they have not learned from their previous mistakes, since this current problem is over the same contract issues with WIPA and the players as in July of 2009 against the Bangladesh Cricket Team. That boycott led to the Board having to scramble to produce a makeshift team of six players from the Combine Campuses Team with a the sub-par batsman at the regional level having to lead the team and Kraigg Brathwaite being called up as a promising 16 year old player and then over looked for the tour. Again, this particular tour had raised a lot of questions as to who were calling the shots in West Indies cricket, the Board or a particular individual who was very vocal and instrumental in half of the team comprising of players from the Combine Campuses team.
I am in total agreement that some form of dialog needs to be take place between the BCCI and that no government in the Caribbean should intervene because West Indies cricket is already plague with too much politics. A special select team should be put in place to negotiate on the behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board to try and mend the wounds. This group of selected persons should include Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Everton Weekes, Brian Lara and Darren Ganga. Both Sir Garfield and Sir Everton are highly respected International cricketers in the cricketing fraternity as well as Mr. Lara and Mr. Ganga being a former test player, a great leader as a captain and a lawyer would make a formidable negotiation team.
The time is now ripe for the entire West Indies Cricket Board to disband get its house in order and restructure the organization as to how a business is supposed to operate and stop recycling pass cricketers to run its affairs and select business minded professionals to run its affairs. Yes, cricket is a sport that earns money similar to how any other business earns money through a product. The Board or body should seriously dispense of their old policy and implement a more business-like model to govern its operations.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.