Letters To The Editor...

Sun, Oct 13, '02

This week's talkback column includes a response from Dr Mike McLean that continues the discussion about the state of cricket administration and fund raising in Canada.

We also received a letter from a cricket fan concerned about the "Bajanisation" of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and a plea from an overseas-based fan for local cricket information from Antigua. Have a read ...

I note that you have received an anonymous rebuttal than may or may not have been penned by no less an authority than Canada's answer to "all creatures great and small". Whether or not "The vet" did opine this email, the writer has in fact highlighted the role (or lack of it) of Canada's cricketing administrators (the CCA) in the present financial plight of the Canadian team. Nothing contained therein causes me to wish to reconsider anything that I wrote. Absolutely nothing. Their involvement has been a shambles. A couple of personal experiences I'll share with the readers.

Shortly after the ICC trophy last year, a dedicated group of supporters formed a Committee and
approached the CCA with some exciting fund-raising ideas and concepts (and some outstanding leads). These were hard-nosed and extremely capable business leaders, some of the best we have, and acting out of an altruistic wish to help the game develop. Their efforts were met with disdain, and they were effectively rejected as a result of the CCA?s stalling tactics. These gentlemen subsequently gave up their efforts in disgust. Canada cricket probably lost $200,000 to 250,000 in sponsorship there and then.

The result is that now the Canadian team will be going to South Africa without any visible sponsorship. This is a dreadful state of affairs. The fund-raiser announced at the Toronto Cricket Club is a belated attempt to show the team, my team, that there is tremendous support from the grass roots and appreciation for all of their efforts and sacrifices.

Not long ago the West Indies "A" team played Canada at Toronto CC. I purchased a bat, had both
teams sign it, organised a raffle, and hawked it around the ground selling tickets. The comments from the spectators were consistently "don't give any of this money to CCA under any circumstances; it's for the team". Nearly $1,000 was raised and handed over to the players. I have never witnessed such vitriolic comments. These cricketing administrators are despised by player and supporter alike. They know that. Quite how they can continue to operate in this environment of distrust and dislike is completely beyond my comprehension.

Lawyer Errol Townsend recently resigned as VP of the CCA, citing that he could take it no more. His descriptions of cricket's leadership in Canada range from inept all the way down to atrocious. How, he asks, can he work with and support an organisation that has seen it?s financial state plunge from solvency to deep debt in such a short period of time.

I have a message for the CCA. By all means luxuriate and salivate over your forthcoming collective trips to South Africa. But please don't bask in any reflected glory that my team achieves over there. That would be a nauseating spectacle. They deserve so much better.

(Dr.) Mike McLean



Mr Editor,

What is really going on at the WICB? The dismissal of Gregory Shillingford is just the latest in a series of grossly mishandled situations that seem to plague the Board. This failure by Board members to properly manage organizational aspects seem to constitute the single most damaging hindrance to the success of West Indies cricket. When will these distractions stop and the business of returning the West Indies to the pinnacle of world cricket become the primary focus of the WICB? When will the antiquated, know-it-alls who populate the Board allow the professionally trained managers to do their jobs and efficiently run the business of the WICB?

Why was Mr. Shillingford dismissed? More surprising is the fact that Roger Brathwaite, the recently installed head of marketing, was made acting CEO. What an insult that must have been to senior members of the staff who have had a longer tenure with the company, and are more familiar with the operational aspects of the WICB. Can Brathwaite, who already has his plate full with running marketing, handle the entire organization as well when he has only recently joined the WICB? What was Rev. Wes Hall's motivation behind installing a fellow Barbadian in the CEO position? Why were Dr. Michael Seepersaud and Mr. Michael Hall so blatantly overlooked when it came to appointing a temporary CEO? Why are they being marginalized? These two qualified and capable men are the last remnants of the Rosseau/Shillingford administration and it is clear that the current Board is attempting to install their own handpicked cronies.

Are their jobs also in jeopardy, to be replaced by more "yes-men", and are we seeing the beginnings of the monopolization of the WICB by Barbadian interests spearheaded by Rev. Wes Hall? Are reports that Stephen Alleyne is tipped to become the next CEO as accurate as earlier reports of Shillingford's demise that was so ashamedly denied.

Who is running the WICB? Are professional business managers running this multi-million dollar organization or is it run by a cabalistic group of antiquated "know-it-alls" who have no idea about efficiently managing such an organization or who have their territorial self interests to look after?

For the WICB to be successful as an organization the Board must allow the competent professionals to do their jobs without constant interference and distraction. Some of these guys on the Board have been around for decades, the President might be a cricket legend, but that does not mean that they are skilled in running a multi-million dollar company. The egos on some them are so big that they feel they must be involved in aspects of the organization that they know nothing about, and as a result hinder and damage the work of the professional.

It seems that the WICB is a fraternity who use the organization as a way of promoting their own self-aggrandisement, all the while ignoring the real issues affecting our cricket. Rev. Wes Hall has joined the bandwagon and under his tenure the WICB has declined further. Where is cricket development going Rev. Hall? Is the Rudy Webster situation at the St. George's academy straightened out or is he still being allowed to retard the growth of our young West Indian talent because of his personal friendship with the reverend?

I remember growing up listening to cricket through the crackling commentary on my mother's short wave radio. It distresses me greatly to see West Indian cricket fall even further into that abyss of failure that we are now mired. And it pains me even further to know that the WICB lacks the leadership and desire needed to pull us out of this rut and return us to greatness. I call on the members of the Board to swallow their pride and oversized egos, and allow men who are brighter than they to handle areas of managing the operations and development of cricket.

The West Indies has had glory days. Now lets work at creating even more glorious ones so that my son can be as thrilled watching West Indian cricket on television as I was listening intently on that old short wave radio with the crackling commentary.

Anthony Awad
Worried West Indian



Dear Editor,

Please post more information about club cricket in Antigua. I live in Florida these days and I never get any information on local cricket in Antigua. If there are readers of this site who can get scores and other information, it would be nice if you pass this along to CaribbeanCricket.com to help keep us informed.

The site of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is useless. Please see what you can do.

Eddie Linton,
Orlando, Florida