Sir Curtly Ambrose said while he fully endorses regional players plying their trade across the world to secure their financial futures, he believes those players should equally make themselves available to play for the West Indies.

The issue was brought into sharp focus recently when several West Indies players declined to tour Bangladesh citing the pandemic and their related safety concerns. However, some of those players later went on to play for T20 franchises in countries that were also experiencing spikes in the number of Covid-19 infections.

“A cricket career can be a very short one, once you have an injury it could be all over for you so with guys going around plying their trade with different franchises making money to set themselves up financially, I have no issues with it.

“However, I think it needs to strike a balance somewhere because most of these guys who are playing their trade around the world, it’s because they played for the West Indies team why people saw them and gave them contracts. So for me, you need to find a balance somewhere where you can give back to West Indies cricket. You need to give back to West Indies cricket at some point as opposed to abandoning West Indies cricket.”

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In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

I fully endorsed his line of argument that while players have a right to secure financial security for their respective families but they also have an obligation to WI cricket which discovered them, so like cricketers from other nations, there should be a balance between plying your trade and representing your home country/region.

In reply to Slipfeeler

What nonsense is Amby talking. Most likely those contracted never played for the WI prior in their contracts outside of the WI. Strangely he has not commented on Archer and those who were forced into Kolpak contracts to earn a living.

In reply to Barry

Barry, CWI consists of the various regional boards which are financially supported by the individual countries. Therefore when a player represents WI, then he/she is representing their home country by extension, which is a direct/indirect financial supporter of CWI. That is why, for example, Brain Lara is known as a player for not only Trinidad and Tobago but also for West Indies.

In reply to Slipfeeler

When someone runs for Great Britain they run for Scotland too?

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

In reply to Overthrow

I understands what Curtly Ambrose is saying however, this should only apply if a player is contracted.

if you take the ppl monthly salary then you have to make yourself available when required

In reply to Barry

No but similarly, why would you say Jahmar Hamilton plays for West Indies and not for England?

Ok lets thicken the plot, what if there is a cricketer from the US Virgin Islands, in case you do not know are part of the Leeward Cricket Board, the location where I watched the last great partnership between The Shiv and Sarwan for Guyana versus Leeward.
Anyway, if a player from USVI makes the West Indies cricket team, then why would you say that the player is playing for West Indies and not United States?

In reply to Slipfeeler

You didn’t get the analogy- Great Britain consists of these countries... England is a country

In reply to Barry

Obviously you didn't get my analogy either, so lets just agree to disagree on that point.

In reply to Slipfeeler

The region has a different relationship to the player than a nation.... especially with Jamaican and Antiguan administrators who lack integrity and are insular...