WI cricket more important than egos

West Indies cricket is more important to the people of the region and the international cricket community than the stubborn egos of ODI captain and the players who took the decision to abandon the tour of India, the president and CEO of Wipa and the executive of the WICB. Good sense and even common sense should have prevailed in handling the impasse which eventuated in the sudden abandonment of the tour of India.

The abandonment of the tour is embarrassing not only for West Indies cricket, but to the people of the Caribbean. This fiasco comes right on the heels of another unsavoury international humiliation experienced by the T&T women footballers because of managerial blunders of the TTFA. These situations continue to provide “justification” to the view that developing countries cannot manage their affairs in a highly professional manner.

Trinidad Guardian

India should be trying to help save West Indian cricket

It was a promotional email about a new DVD version of Fire in Babylon, a few weeks ago, which made me sit down once again in front of one of the greatest films to have emerged from the field of sport. The story it tells of how the great West Indies side of the 1970s used cricket – their colonisers’ game – as a devastating expression of their independent spirit is so inspirational that you wonder how the team and Test cricket on the islands can have withered to a state of near collapse in the space of just 40 years.

Dwayne Bravo and his players have just become the first team to abandon a tour – in India – because of a dispute over pay and, amid the catalogue of incompetence and intransigence which has brought things to this, you wonder why someone didn’t think to sit the players down in front of Stevan Riley’s masterpiece.

The Independent

'I never put up my hand' Samuels hits back at Bravo;

West Indies batsman, Marlon Samuels, has strongly denied several assertions made by West Indies one-day captain, Dwayne Bravo, in a letter issued to the media at the weekend.

The letter, the latest in a series by Bravo, refuted previous comments made by Samuels in a radio interview done early last week, where the latter distanced himself from the player boycott of the recently concluded West Indies tour of India.

Replying to a part of the letter which stated, "Mr Samuels was invited to, and did attend the majority of meetings with the players on tour", Samuels said such a statement is not true.

Jamaica Gleaner

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

I am never ever surprised , when those in the Media are exceedingly quick to proclaim that it is always the Players fault .

Obviously , this always infers that those in the governance of the WICB are always Right . By this yardstick then , I guess that it was the Players who embarrassed the Region at the inaugural Test match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium .

It was also the Players who fritted away money in a law suit that went to the Privy Council , taht also involved DIGICEL & STANFORD .

It was the Players who made the Sponsors of the Regional Tournaments to stop being Sponsors ;so that the WICB had to foot the bills for the Regional Tournaments ; which obviously depleted some of its Financial Resources .

Those in the Media have failed to address the issue of the WICB having to pay certain Players settlements , once again
draining their Coffers .

What about the issue involving the Guyana
Government & the GCB , that was not the Players fault , was it ??? Imagine the GCB
was not an incorporated Entity , it is quite possible that; at that juncture there were other Regional Boards that were not incorporated . Where were the " Great" Sports Journalists when this happened . I don't recall hearing a peep from them .

Everything involving Cricket in the Region is always the Players fault , it is never those in the governance of Cricket fault .
The sad apologists in the Region always agree , as usual that it is the Players fault through the Media .

My take is that it is those in the Media who continuously are Aiding & Abetting those in the governance of Cricket in the Region ; who must bear some responsibility with those in the WICB for the current Sad ; Sorry ; State of Cricket in the Region .