PERFORMING “THE LAST RITES” ON WEST INDIES CRICKET

By Richard Blackford - Guest Blogger

In less than 12 hours the process of voting for the position of President of the West Indies Cricket Board would have been completed and either Mr. Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron would have been returned for a second two year term or Joel “Big Bird” Garner would have been elected as President. Whatever happens, one thing will remain steadfastly clear; West Indies Cricket cannot continue on its current disastrous course. For if we are to make an honest assessment of the game in the Region, the single adjective that comes to mind is “disastrous.” Regardless of which of the two contenders for the top position winning, the question that we should ask ourselves is whether or not either contender possess the capabilities to extract the Region’s game from its current precipice on which it is teetering.


In my opinion, Dave Cameron who ascended the position two years earlier and with much fanfare has done absolutely nothing for the game during his tenure. His inauspicious involvement in the debacle that resulted in the abandonment of the 2014 Tour of India should have been enough to disqualify him from further participation in the administration of the sport thereafter, but of course the West Indies Cricket Board reports to no one, not least of all the fans. Veteran commentator Tony Cozier’s unflattering description of Cameron states “In Cameron’s two years as ultimate boss of West Indies cricket, its standard, reputation and financial status has plummeted ffurther to unthinkable depths” and anyone with an interest in the sport in the Region and following the regional game in the last 15 years would find it difficult to disagree.

Joel Garner comes to the “Vote” with very little beyond his glittering reputation as one of the games deadliest fast bowlers during his playing years. Beyond roles as an Assistant Manager on a Sri Lankan tour in 2010, Garner has served as President of the Barbados Cricket Association. There is very little else to recommend him as the ideas he has presented in his “Manifesto” states in part: “The Territorial Boards are key resources in West Indies Cricket. As such, we must work with these Boards and all our stakeholders, including WIPA and the players, corporate organizations and CARICOM, among others, to create effective partnerships in order to build a strong, unified, accountable and well-governed organization capable of bringing West Indies Cricket, on and off the field, to a position where we are once again a respected force in world cricket. The WICB will be respected as a high quality cricket playing entity, both men and women, and respected as a business organization, capable of efficient planning and implementation, to keep pace with the dynamism of the modern business environment within the sport.”

The Manifesto targets areas such as cricket development and performance; governance; finances; administration and management, along with the priority action to be taken. Overall, the promises are nothing different than what has been proposed previously and my guess is that unless a more radical approach to the role of the Board id adopted it will simply be “business as usual” regardless of who prevail come March 7, 2015.

The challenge is made even more pronounced by the submission of a bill for just under $42 million by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as compensation for losses suffered by the abandonment of the West Indies tour of that country last year. The facts related to this issue has already been made public and one thing that is clear is that however they intend to address this, it will be a mill-stone around the neck of the West Indies game for a while to come. West Indies cricket has been the best advertising of the Region as a whole for more than 87 years and what is needed at this time is broader more inclusive vision from the administrators. While still a major sport, cricket has lost its appeal among the masses within the region especially since the demise of the West Indies as a competitive aggregation in this world sport which began with the Waugh brothers’ demolition job at Sabina Park on May 3rd 1995. Thus began the longest losing streak of any team in world sport with neither players nor administrators having any workable ideas of how to not only cauterize the losses of the unit but also to put together a structure designed to develop a pool of talent in the islands and by extension the game across the region.


While I am gutted by the disaster that has become the West Indies Cricket team, I must say that I am not surprised. In fact it has been nothing short of a virtual miracle that West Indies cricket as an institution has survived this long. From the very beginning the sport in the region has been dogged by racial and territorial insularities. Prior to 1950 only the so called “Big Four” territories Barbados, Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad represented the region and team selection as well as Board representation reflected island dominance with Barbados and Trinidad enjoying most representation. Further, the “old boys” network underpinned the WICBC structure with very little if at all any involvement by the regional governments. This was the platform on which the game developed and claims of insularity were pushed aside by the team’s generally favourable fortunes during this period.

Between 1962 and 1982 though the state of affairs changed dramatically as the sport in the region came into the cross hairs of the sweeping movement towards political independence among the islands. These changes coincided with the professionalization of the sport globally which not only changed attitudes among the membership of the WICBC but also among the players. During this period, playing West Indies cricket became a profession and while we developed the roots of our strength we also began to sow the seeds of our own demise. The first open conflict between the players and the WICBC reared its head in late 1978 when the Clive Lloyd led players were barred from playing for the regional side because of their emerging contracts with Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. This matter was only settled when the UK Privy Council ruled in favor of WSC with Lord Slade’s judgment that the actions of the Boards including the WICBC was an illegal restraint of trade. This became the genesis of antagonism between the Board and players and in all cases matters affecting the two groups were always addressed without interference from the governments in the region.

In the circumstances the WICB and its charges co-existed as any mistrustful but interdependent unit would. It was this state of affairs that piloted the upgrade of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) as the bargaining unit for the players. At the same time the culture among the Board was being cemented by marriages of convenience between sub-regional membership blocks who colluded to determine its leadership composition. The result was the continuation of the “old boy’s network” underpinned by a different model of insularity. West Indies cricket under such circumstances meandered along as two interdependent but somewhat independent entities. This has been and continues to be the problem and no amount of proposals laid will halt the slide until the two groups appreciate that they answer to the fans and the sponsors, not themselves. The WICB must take full responsibility for its failure to own its responsibilities headlined by developing and managing a structure for the game in the region. This is the challenge for the WICB comes March 7, 2015 and on the basis of current experiences I have to wonder if this election isn’t really the “last rites” on a dead West Indies as a cricketing region.

As always, one love and walk good till next time