WE CONSIDER IT most unfortunate that at a time when the region should be at one in praise of our victorious cricket teams, so many Caribbean citizens have found it necessary to spend their time in heated criticism of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Having won both the men’s and women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday and the World Under-19 tournament earlier, our players, fans and cricket administrators should be basking in glory on the world stage. Instead, for the umpteenth time the regional sport is embroiled in the public trading of insults and criticisms.
While it would be impossible to argue plausibly that the strain between the board and its players – and the game’s regional fans – began with the current board or even the current president Dave Cameron, it is quite clear that the unhealthy atmosphere is now somewhere between ingrained and chronic.
It cannot continue without the very real possibility of bringing West Indies cricket to its knees.
Under the circumstances, it may very well be in the best interest of the future of the game in the Caribbean for the entire WICB board of directors and the executive management staff to hand in their resignations. The problems afflicting cricket are many and complex and we would be less than prudent to suggest that the blame lies entirely with the administrators.
However, the turnaround has to begin somewhere, and if those in charge firmly believe they have done nothing wrong, it still would not be enough to erase the very real situation today, which indicates that the WICB has fallen far out of favour with the players and the public.
In essence it is akin to the board of a major public corporation being always at war with its workers and customers, putting its viability and survival in grave danger. At some point that board has to do the moral thing and step aside; or the shareholders and critical stakeholders must pull the rug from under them.
As far as we are concerned, this issue is no longer about if the board is right or wrong. There is a major crisis of confidence in the board and in the best interest of West Indies cricket, it is time for a new board, or perhaps more important a totally new structure, for the management of the game in the region.
When men’s T20 captain Darren Sammy said on Sunday after his team’s victory that “we are yet to hear from our own board. This is very disappointing”, it was not out of character with how Caribbean people view the relationship between team and board. The region has to use these three championship wins as stepping stones to rebuilding the game here, and continuing with this kind of strained relationship will only act as a retardant.
Unfortunately, as in any such equation, those responsible have to determine who is dispensable and who is most dispensable. In the cricket equation the players have provided the answer — it is the board that is most dispensable. While it would be injudicious of us to suggest the motives of the board and the top executives were less than honourable, the fact of the matter is that their performance has been far less than stellar.
We believe it is time to thank the board and executive management for their services and move on with new personalities in a new structure. Cricket is too important to the unity and spirit of our region for the retention of a leadership that is characterised by two extremes – when they are not at the crease poking in a display of either limited confidence or knowledge, they are throwing their heads in the air and swiping. Let’s pull stumps on this situation now!