CCA Faces ICC Suspension
Wed, Jun 25, '03
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has read the riot act to president of the Canada Cricket Association (CCA) Geoff Edwards, warning that his "lack of direction and governance" over the last 12 months could lead to a suspension from the ICC High Performance Program.
An explosive memo from ICC Development Manager Andrew Eade warned Edwards that significant improvements must be made within six months of Canada would be suspended from the High Performance Program, which provides crucial funding for cricket development among ICC associate members.
Edwards, who was involved in the controversial decision to sack the Canada team coach just before the World Cup earlier this year, is under pressure within the CCA to hang on to the presidency and the latest warning from the ICC adds to the litany of negativity surrounding his administration.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), which has been a visible supporter of the Edwards regime, has also been apprised of the latest ICC warning. The WICB's chief cricket development officer Dr Michael Seepersaud was recently briefed at a meeting in New York by Eade and the newly appointed Regional Development Manager for the Americas Martin Vieira.
CaribbeanCricket.com has seen copies of Eade's warning to the CCA and the reply from CCA President Geoff Edwards, published below...
ANDREW EADE'S LETTER TO CCA PRESIDENT GEOFF EDWARDS:
Dear Geoff,
I am writing to you officially to express my grave concern over the lack of direction and governance within the Canada Cricket Association over the last 12 months. This has manifested itself primarily in regard to the ICC High Performance Program, but I believe it relates to all areas of operation.
Matters have come to a head with the most recent visit of the ICC High Performance Manager to Toronto. In his view the visit was a total waste of time with no preparation having been completed by the CCA and no arrangements having been made for him to meet with a cross section of stakeholders as had been requested.
Matters were exacerbated by the fact that the CCA Executive had no planning whatsoever in place for its national team. The High Performance Manager was left with the impression that no progress was being made despite the outstanding performance of the players at the World Cup and that his involvement with Canada cricket was largely a waste of time.
I agree with this judgement and am firmly of the opinion that until there is a substantial change in the style of the current administration of the Canada Cricket Association there is little chance of the Canada developing under the High Performance Program.
Both the High Performance Manager and myself are aware that this is a serious matter and consequently I raised the issue at the recent ICC Development Committee meeting in New York.
Following a long discussion the committee requested that the CCA be put on notice that their participation in the High Performance Program was under review and that the Development Manager had been asked to report back to the next Development Committee meeting on progress made over the next six months. At that time, should there be no significant improvement in the functioning of the CCA administration, the committee would consider suspending Canada from the High Performance Program.
Further to this request I am now writing to officially advise you of this position. I have also copied other members of your Executive Board and the CCA Provincial Directors as I believe it is important that everyone understands the seriousness of this situation.
Both the High Performance Manager and myself are committed to work with the CCA to bring about the necessary improvements in administration. However we can not do this without the whole hearted support of the current Executive. In particular what will be required is a new willingness to involve more people in the variety of important tasks that must be undertaken, and a willingness by the President to delegate managerial functions to the CCA Administrator (whether he be paid or volunteer) and other key volunteer officials.
I have asked the ICC Regional Development Manager, who has an intimate and long standing understanding of Canadian cricket through decades of involvement, to propose a course of action that may address the areas of concern. He will write to you shortly in this regard and the responsiveness of yourself and the CCA Executive to the measures suggested will be of paramount importance when considering progress made over the next six months.
Regards,
Andrew Eade,
Development Manager
REPLY TO EADE FROM CCA PRESIDENT GEOFF EDWARDS:
Dear Andrew:
Please understand that I run professional veterinary practice and after having been away I had a backlog of cases and problems to address.
I am a volunteer in cricket and we are currently facing problems which can be aided with the help of an Administrative Assistant, a position for which funding has been stopped.
My quick reply to you indicated that we had discussed David Patterson and received Bob Woolmer's go ahead to utilize him with our U-19's and U-23's.
Even without any active Admin Asst, we still have an Executive and a Board and we consult before we submit any plan to Bob Woolmer, the Regional Development Manager and to you. Please forgive.
As indicated we started to use David Patterson last Friday with our U-19s and he was again used with our U-23's in a Premier Division game yesterday.
Chris Briers sent an email last Wednesday 18th to David indicating terms for the applicants for the High Performance programme. As indicated by Bob last Monday, applicants are paid $250.00 per day and an allowance of $50.00 per day, I believe. Can we please be given a copy of this information for our records and for our guidance.
Best Regards,
Geoff