The WICB Got This One Right

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), for its inconsistencies, lack of transparency and illogical decision-making, is generating distrust and disgust among knowledgeable cricket fans across the region. I have personally expressed displeasure at their clandestine operational mode and maintain that things are not as they should be.

However, in all fairness, I give credit where it is due, and this is one such occasion...

I refer to the Marlon Samuels controversy that has taken on a life of its own on this Web site and in newspapers and radio stations around the Caribbean.

Reputable Jamaican administrators, in association with their powerful media, have transformed a simple matter of a player being sidelined for his own good -- and that of the future of West Indies cricket -- into an unpleasant confrontation with far-reaching consequences.

These are the facts as I understand them:

Marlon Samuels is selected to represent the West Indies at the World Cup. The squad is assembled at a two-week preparatory camp in Antigua. During the camp, the young batting star is hindered by the same knee which was operated on a little over a year ago. He returns to his homeland for an exploratory MRI scan, thus providing the selectors with a definitive assessment.

The specialist who carries out the determining procedure concludes that the nature of the injury is such that he can probably play, but with the following considerations:

1. He should not/must not be subjected to any demanding exercise routine.

2. There is the likelihood that he could severely jeopardize his career by playing in his present condition.

The selectors do not see the wisdom in taking a semi-fit player, and express the same. There are comprehensive press releases and regrets. In a nutshell, it is an unfortunate break for a gifted and key player.

Enter his illustrious and respected countrymen who see it quite differently to the WICB representatives. They dream up a cunningly conspiratorial angle, which has quite effectively stirred the negative emotions of the vulnerable and skeptical around the Caribbean who, to their(the theorists) benefit, are high in number.

The icing is then placed firmly on the cake, when he is declared "fully fit" by a qualified physical trainer to participate in the regional tournament. So much for the findings of Dr. Akshai Mansingh.

I am intensely skeptical when it comes to the dealings of the WICB but, having assessed this situation, I refuse to be influenced by this seemingly complex position and argument which is clearly based on insularity and simplistic beliefs.

All level-headed West Indians (Jamaicans included) must denounce these mischievous and self-serving tactics, and apply logic to the situation, to avoid divisive bitterness.

For team management to be fully aware that Samuels' knee was problematic, obviously, one of the following must have occurred, he:

a) Most likely would have informed them of his unbearable discomfort whilst practicing. (Notice, I stress 'unbearable', because he would have known it could possibly mean missing the tournament - and would have hung in, if he saw even the remotest possibility to)

b) Told a teammate in confidence, who betrayed his trust; or

c) Could not conceal the injury, despite his best efforts. Consider this: for a detailed diagnostic test to be requested, there is every suggestion that the complaint -- whatever the circumstance of its revelation -- was no casual affair.

Quite frankly, if Marlon was up to it, we would not have been furiously debating this issue. The knee obviously could not stand up to the rigours of the West Indies team's fitness test, thus eliminating him from cricket's ultimate showpiece. If he does the right thing, he can be part of the next tournament. If not...

I add, if there are any other players in the recently departed squad, who it can be proven are similarly challenged -- forthwith, the same principle must apply, irrespective of status. Send those persons back, and replace them. What goes for one, goes for all.

It would be remiss of me, if I did not express that the photographs being circulated in the media, showing the apparently healthy Samuels, in an almost defiant manner, bending and extending his knees in preparation for the Carib Beer Cup, are as damaging to him, as they are intended to convince.

What's the point? He probably grimaced all the way during some of the testing sprints and knee-flexes in Antigua, why weren't those published as points of reference? All this sensationalism will merely succeed in misleading his many supporters, and the player himself -- to his eventual detriment.

What have the selectors to gain by maliciously omitting the virtual backbone of the batting line up, at this critical juncture? This is a stunning and depressing development, they themselves can scarcely fathom.

The calm and mature youngster must now be wary of the agenda-driven influences around him, and is advised to exercise caution. Should he go against good advice; when his time comes for crying, he can rest assured -- it will be alone.

In concluding, those who wish to malign and condemn Sir Vivian Richards and those responsible for the ruling on Marlon Samuels, I put this to you: How many not-so-serious injuries do you know of that require a year of post-operative rehabilitation?

* Nigel McKenzie is a cricket columnist for Guyana's Kaieteur News.