WICB Decisions Explained...
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) directors' meeting in
Trinidad and Tobago Monday turned out to be a busy one full of
decisions big and small.
The biggest news out of the meeting was also the most expected --
the clearing of champion batsman Brian Lara of match-fixing
allegations but there were a series of crucial decisions from the
board that probably won't make headlines. In this article, we break
down the WICB decisions...
LARA CLEARED, FINALLY
Why the board had to make a big dramatic announcement to clear
Lara of these charges is still not clear but, finally, WICB
president Wes Hall finally put this non-issue to rest.
The allegations, that Lara took a payoff to under-perform in two
ODI during the Indian tour of 1994, was already disproven months
ago by Bajan attorney Elliott Mottley, who investigated the charges
for the WICB but it took several months for the WICB to issue a
definitive statement clearing Lara.
Still, Wes Hall's words following the directors' meeting was
comforting. "We now consider that this matter is hereby officially
closed...We wrote to Brian's lawyers informing them that the matter
is officially closed and that the allegations made against him were
unfounded."
End of story. Several months too late.
WEST INDIES 'B' TEAM SELECTION POLICY CHANGED
In a bold and imaginative move, the WICB must get credit for
shaking up the way its 'B' team is selected for the regional first
class championship. Acting on a recommendation from its cricket
committee, the WICB will pick the 'B' team from a list of
unprotected players submitted by the territorial teams.
Here's how it will work. The regular territories -- Barbados,
Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and
Windward Islands -- will be asked to name 13 "protected" players by
January 15. These 13 players will not be eligible for 'B'
team selection.
This is a significant decision because some territories -- most
noticeably Guyana -- refused to have certain players appear for the
'B' team even though they did not play with the national side. The
new selection policy means that any player not "protected" and
meeting a strict Under-23 age requirement, would be eligible for
the 'B' team.
The WICB's cricket committee much be applauded for making this
move. Firstly, as Rev Hall explained, it fixes the ad-hoc nature in
which the 'B' team was selected in the past and, more importantly,
it places the emphasis on a young brigade of players.
Another key decision is that the 'B' captain will be named from
that Under-23 pool, a reversal from a WICB policy of using veteran
cricketers like Roland Holder and Richie Richardson to skipper the
team in the past.
The players picked for the 'B' team will be allowed to transfer
from their national team to the 'B' Team for a particular round of
matches, but the reverse will not be allowed.
The junior selection committee (Clyde Butts, Ezra Moseley and
Derrick Parry) will select the 'B' team along with coach Gus Logie
and senior selector Joey Carew.
PLAYERS FUND SWITCHED
Remember the catastrophe over the Provident Fund investments that
cost players like Courtney Walsh thousands of dollars?
Although a million unanswered questions remain, the WICB has
finally shed some light on the matter, announcing a switch to a
Blue Chip Fund (BCF) to minimise stock market risks.
Here's how the board will proceed with the investments -- which are
used to assist cricketers after retirement:
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The WICB will create a notional fund effective July 2000 (in relation to each member). This fund will operate as if no switch of funds had taken place.
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The board will monitor the balance between the notional fund and the BCF until the value of the notional fund is equal to or just exceeds the value in the member's BCF at which point the notional fund is terminated.
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Prior to the crossover point, any retirement from the Provident Fund will be funded from the notional fund to ensure that no member suffers any loss.
This is a huge step by the board to absorb the losses "make things right" with the players and, again, another move that the WICB must be applauded for.
"The major issue with the Provident Fund was the switching of funds in July 2000 from the Guaranteed Accumulation Fund (GAF), a secure fund providing an annual return of 4-5 per cent to the BCF, the least risky of the risky funds that was aimed at achieving higher returns to members," the board explained.
"Due to market conditions, the price per unit in the BCF declined in the two years since the switch with the consequent loss to members who had since retired and who were on the verge of retirement," it added.
Still, although this issue appears to be rectified, the issue of blame and responsibility was left hanging. Don't hold your breath for answers to this one.
DISCIPLINARY DECISIONS
Like the drama over the Lara allegations, the WICB is crawling along with the decision of its disciplinary committee regarding charges against the trio of Runako Morton, Tino Best and Sulieman Benn.
After promising a decision on Monday, the board announced that it would announce it later. Why the delay? The board said it is writing to the players to convey these decisions and "will issue a release on the matter once these letters have been received."
Well, according to the WICB's own Web site, the board received the disciplinary report since October 31, almost two weeks ago. Does it take that long to send out letters notifying the players of the decision?
THE SHELL ACADEMY
Again, the board announced that nothing would be announced regarding the controversial report on the Shell Cricket academy.
The WICB said it agreed on a number of recommendations critical to the operation and development of the Shell Cricket Academy but declined to make them public because these have not yet been communicated to Academy boss Dr Rudi Webster.
"This meeting did not take place because of the recent illness of Dr. Webster," Rev Hall said.
Because the board announced that it had nothing to announce, we are still in the dark about its feelings on the hard-hitting report by Aussie coaches Tim Coyle and Ashleigh 'Toot' Byron who described Webster as an "unqualified and unaccredited coach in charge of an elite programme." The report, leaked to the media, was also critical of the academy's physical plant, the staff and management.
So, we are still where we started, waiting on word on that mess.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
This announcement did not generate much buzz but it could be a crucial one, especially with the need for a long-term captain to take over from Carl Hooper in the senior side.
Hooper is no spring chicken and, in about two to three years, he will likely retire for good and it appears the WICB's cricket committee is being proactive to identify "future leaders" for West Indies teams.
The board's cricket committee (Mike Findlay, Rev. Wes Hall, Jackie Hendricks, Sir Everton Weekes, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Bryan Davis and Ann Browne-John) has proposed specialised leadership training as an "area of high priority for the WICB" and urged a a structured approach to the identification and moulding of future West Indies captains.
It's not clear how the board will go about identifying and training the future captains but, on the surface, this is another significant move. "What we want to do is to identify half-dozen or so young players who have the ability and potential to lead and we will put them through this training," Hall explained.
FAST BOWLING CLINIC
For the financial year 2002-03, the board has upped its allocation of funds for cricket development programmes around the Caribbean by more than US$1.5 million.
This year, the board will give US$2 million to cricket development programmes -- US$600,000 to be equally allocated between the six territorial boards and US$1.4 million to the WICB's cricket development programme.
Last year, the board budgeted just US$260,000 so it's no surprise Rev Hall is touting this year's increase. More importantly, the increased funding means the board will appoint a cricket development officer in each of the six territories by January 2003.
The board said it would focus on the development and training of young fast bowlers. To this end, a fast-bowling clinic will be held starting December 9 this year.
An additional US$250,000 has been allocated to the youth competitions at the Under-15 and Under-19 levels.