Dinanath Ramnarine Unplugged

Former West Indies leg-spinner and new president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Dinanath Ramnarine has scoffed at suggestions of a pay-per-performance salary structure for the region's cricketers.

In a wide-ranging &A interview with the Trinidad Express newspaper, Ramnarine defended the performance of the players in recent years, saying: "Regardless of what people may think, cricket is a sport that demands significant amounts of time and commitment of its players yet it is by far the lowest income earning sport. WIPA feels that players should be compensated for this accordingly. Having said this, WIPA also believes that performance should be encouraged and rewarded and this may be done in the form of incentives."

Below is the full text of the interview conducted by Garth Wattley...

For some time the West Indies players felt that they were not being properly represented. They felt that concerns and issues that were raised were not being dealt with in an inefficient manner and realised a more vibrant representation was required. I was then approached by the players to take up the Presidency of WIPA which after some deliberation I decided to take up the position.

Were there others competing for the job?
No, not even the incumbent. It was unopposed.

Your appointment has been described as a coup for the younger players. How do you respond?
The WIPA is governed by a constitution and it was in accordance with the constitution that elections were held. I believe the new executive reflects a proper mix of former and current players. They are Phil Simmons, Vice-President, Roland Holder, Secretary, Wavell Hinds, Treasurer, and Reon King, Assistant Secretary.

Why did you take on this job?
I felt the frustrations that the other members were feeling and I was asked by several of my colleagues to represent these concerns. This was not an easy decision for me to make, but I realised that this was an opportunity for me to try to make a contribution. I decided that we could take a different approach to players' representation by trying to work together with the WICB.

What was wrong with the representation of the players before?
I don?t think we were being represented properly. The West Indies Players Association was not accomplishing anything. You got the feeling that there was this misconception that West Indies cricketers were indisciplined and were only about money. I thought those things needed to be cleared up.

How much cooperation have you had from your fellow players thus far?
It is still early days but generally I have no complaints. There have been one or two issues on which a couple of players had varying opinions on positions to be taken but we have worked through those. This is expected in any organisation and shows that WIPA is a democratically run organisation.

It has been reported that Carl Hooper has complained to your executive about the plan to equally share the team's prize money. Is that true?
The WIPA will not discuss any issues concerning a player's finances as this is confidential.

Can you at least confirm that a complaint had been made on this issue?
I don't want to discuss any financial matters with the public. I think people will respect that.

Describe your relationship with Hooper.
From my perspective my relationship with the captain is a good one.

Does being out of the Test team help or hinder you in this job?
Let's say I'd rather be in the team and do the job.

Describe the relationship between cricketers in the various islands...
From my observations and experience, the relationship between the players on this team from the various islands is a very good one. Although from many reports this has been a problem in the past, I believe we have a new, young group of guys who look beyond individual island nationality. This is good as it shows we are growing in the right direction.

So how do you explain comments by the 'A' team coach Gus Logie that players seem not to have enough respect for each other?
That may be a few people. In a general sense that is not so much of a problem again. There may be a few people who have problems with other people from other countries. What we have to do is educate them and show them that is not the way we would like to go. We believe the board needs to do something to help us. We as the West Indies Players Association understand we need to do things as well.

Does WIPA have plans to bridge any gaps that might exist?
WIPA will continue to play our part in strengthening that unity by always maintaining a policy of inclusion and fair and equal consideration of all of its members.

What are the most pressing issues for non-Test players?
The most pressing issue for them right now is the first class salary and incentive structure. This is currently being discussed between WIPA and WICB. We also will be looking at ways to assist and provide incentives for first-class players who have played on their national teams for a number of years but didn?t quite make it on to the West Indies team. We believe these players are valuable to us if we are to raise the standard of our game and make regional cricket competitive again.

Was the ICC players contract row a big challenge for you and WIPA? If so, how?
Yes, it was as it was for all the Players' Associations worldwide. For my part, it was my first experience negotiating for the players and this was a challenge for me. But having had all the players' support made the job simpler.

What was the most difficult aspect of it?
Unfortunately because of the impending competition, these discussions took place on fairly short notice and we were unable to have legal assistance present during the discussions.

Do you feel the negotiations represented a victory for the WI players?
Although the players felt very strongly about the initial position we took going into the negotiations, upon hearing and understanding the financial difficulties of the WICB, I believe the final outcome was one with which both parties were satisfied. These players demonstrated that they were committed to West Indies cricket and were not just all about money even though we were being strongly supported worldwide.

Describe the relationship between the players and the WICB.
In answering this, one has to look at the history of this relationship and I believe that this has improved. I think there is still a lot of work to be done, but both parties understand the importance and benefits of having good relations and are committed to maintaining and developing this.

Has the situation improved/deteriorated since the London standoff?
This will always be a less than memorable point in WI cricket, but many of the members of the team and the WICB are different now and one hopes that we all have learnt from that incident.

Tell me three things the WICB must improve as a matter of priority.
There are a few critical items of importance to both parties and these are currently being worked on jointly between WIPA and the WICB. The first is plans for implementing better mental preparedness for the players when going on overseas tours. The members feel that our performances on overseas tours have not been satisfactory over the last few years and they feel they need to be more prepared mentally for that challenge. Secondly, we are working on annual retainer contracts for a pool of potential West Indies players to be determined by the WICB.

This is something that has worked successfully for most international teams. We are also discussing provision of insurance for injury or temporary disability for players. As it currently stands, when players are injured on WI duty, they are not compensated by the WICB or any other means. Cricket is a player?s only means on income. This is comparable to compensation given to any person who suffers an injury while at work and more so, is a common provision to athletes in the sporting fraternity.

What about the players. Should the WICB be happy with them after all the whitewashes overseas and the repeated acts of indiscipline in recent times?
I don't believe that any West Indian will be happy to see a whitewash. As for acts of indiscipline, WIPA has made it clear to its members that WIPA will not defend any misdemeanours by its members while on WI duty.

How does WIPA feel about pay on the basis of performance?
Regardless of what people may think, cricket is a sport that demands significant amounts of time and commitment of its players yet it is by far the lowest income earning sport. WIPA feels that players should be compensated for this accordingly. Having said this, WIPA also believes that performance should be encouraged and rewarded and this may be done in the form of incentives.

But aren't WI players short-changing the public?
The performance of the West Indies team in the last few years has been less than what the West Indian public is accustomed to and what they expect. Very high standards were set by past teams and this may be a hard act to follow but one has to recognise that this team is young and is still developing. I believe we did not capitalise enough when West Indies cricket was at the top and we are therefore paying the price now.

I will go on to say that I know for sure that the recent performance does not mean lack of effort by the players. The public needs to be patient and the players and administrators need to be persistent.

Do your Test members realise how badly they are letting people down?
I don't think that any of the players in the team are happy with the performance of the team and it is also a humiliating experience for them. They know that the represent a proud cricketing nation and their intention is to always do their best.

Do you have prima donnas in your ranks?
Prima donnas, what are those?

How patient must the public be when he team in general keeps making the same mistakes?
Let us put it this way. I think all the parties involved should have a part in this. If players want to be better equipped they have to do their bit. But at the end of the day, the WICB are their employers and they should be putting things in place to ensure that the players are better equipped to perform on overseas tours.

Is that not happening now?
Personally, I don't think enough of it is being done. That is where WIPA would come in, to point those things out. We are trying to have better communication.

What would you have liked to have achieved at the end of your stint?
I am hoping that firstly West Indies cricket is back to its rightful place at the top and that players are well represented and can concentrate on their objectives and not have to worry about any extraneous issues. I would like to see a strong relationship developed between the WIPA and the WICB with greater accountability to the West Indian public.

Without the public's support and encouragement we are nothing. WIPA understands the importance of the support of the public. Defintely the players have made a commitment to get closer to the public and not be far away from the. Over the next couple months you would see us trying to do things.

Are you going to see a turnaround in your time?
I am very grateful to have a very committed WIPA executive and one would hope that we will be able to put the right infrastructure in place so that future executive members that succeed us would have the right foundation with which to work. We are not expecting to change things rapidly but we are certainly planning to make sure that the changes that we make would affect West Indies cricket in a positive way and our members would be happy and enjoy playing cricket even longer.

* This interview first appeared in the Trinidad Express.