Vote for Lara's Plan
Mon, May 29, '06
Brian Lara was testing out his new patriarchal role when he spoke at the FCB West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) Awards for 2005 last week.
He launched off a little shakily, identifying the grand old men of West Indies cricket, and came to the conclusion that this tradition and history was too great to be subjected to the "stranglehold of sponsorship."
While he took care to thank sponsors, first Cable & Wireless and then Digicel, his position was that no one entity should control the game's future. He proposed a membership model that would see West Indian supporters becoming a different kind of stakeholder by contributing US$20 each to the cricket coffers and thus lifting it out of its current parlous state.
Lara's call was essentially based on the premise that West Indies cricket needed to become self-sustaining and that sponsorship should form only a peripheral part of its ability to maintain itself.
For some time now, West Indian supporters have endeavoured to gain acceptance by the West Indies Cricket Board as genuine stakeholders in the game. All through the region, in varying fashions, symposia, conferences, debates, talk shows and columns, fans have brought their different forms of expertise to propose models for its administration and development. Many have been done at the expense of people who just care about cricket. Perhaps the largest single gathering of that was at the UWI/CARICOM conference held in June 2000, where 15 national reports were presented containing more than 200 recommendations. Despite an agreement that there would be a follow-up the next year, and that CARICOM would pursue the proposals, nothing substantive was done.
As Lara knows all too well, we have not been without ideas to nurture West Indies cricket; what has been lacking is vital support from CARICOM and the West Indies Cricket Board.
So Lara's proposal that West Indians be drawn into a different relationship with their cricket simply identifies one way in which it can be done. Like him, I believe that West Indies cricket should be self-sustaining. A fund drawn from supporters may provide an initial capital reserve from which a proper business plan can emerge. But it must be part of a wider strategic plan.
For far too long, the marketing of West Indies cricket has been paltry and lacking in imagination. Indeed, it has been so weak that it does not even copycat some of the obvious devices used by other sporting organisations.
No real attempts have been made to make practical use of the wealth generated by the history and tradition of our cricket. Their value as marketing tools is enormous. What about books and music and films and documentaries on cricket? Why not posters and museums? As part of its development plan, the WICB needs to focus on having a vibrant and intelligent marketing department that will bring creative ideas that can generate income, protect our legacy, and keep our cricket alive.
The WICB also needs to get a grip on its own identity. Does it wish to continue along the model it has followed for 78 years? Or is it ready to bite the bullet and accept that it has to become an organisation based on sound, modern business principles with the development of cricket and cricketers, male and female, at heart? If it does, then it has to dismantle its tired, old-boys network and adopt the principles of meritocracy and let the best people get the job done.
West Indians have always offered their support. We have the expertise within and we have not been stingy with it. The WICB has ignored much of the goodwill and experience brought to its doorstep. We have been shareholders without a share for too long.
Lara's plan to involve us financially is a first step on a very long journey.
* This column is republished with permission from the NATION newspaper in Barbados where it first appeared.