Academygate Swept Under the Rug?

If evidence was needed that the old boys' network continues to dominate West Indies cricket, the behind-the-scenes response to a damning report on the Shell Academy would fill up a court dossier.

A CaribbeanCricket.com investigation into the way the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) handled the infamous 'Toot Byron Report' revealed that personal friendships at the highest levels helped sweep that ugly episode under the rug.

After spending three weeks at the Academy in Grenada last July, Australian coaches 'Toot' Byron and Tim Coyle submitted a hard-hitting report to the WICB, painting a picture of a sub-standard facility run by a stubborn director and urged that the board consider terminating all programs until major changes were made.

That report, according to insiders, created deep divisions between the board's Antigua-based management and the St. George's University, which has been contracted by the WICB to run the Academy. The tension ran so deep that the WICB was on the verge of scrapping the 2003 programme, which started last week.

Academy director Dr Rudi Webster, an employee of the university, was described in the report as a headstrong leader who "continually interfered and imposed his will on the players" despite not having attended the sessions conducted by the Aussie coaches.

The pair accused Webster of continually changing the players' batting techniques and interfering with the bowling actions of two youngsters "to the extent they could have injured themselves."

DECEMBER MEETING
Worried about the public relations disaster caused when that report was leaked to the media, insiders say a delegation from the WICB met with St George's University officials on December 16 to sort through the mess.

At that meeting, a 12-point plan was hammered out with the board's cricket people making certain demands of the Webster-led Academy. "The problem from the inception stems from the fact that the WICB has very little input into what goes on there. It's the WICB's academy but they have no say and can't ask any questions when issues are raised," one source said.

Ever since the Academy was launched with financial support from Shell, the board has asked Webster to produce a written curriculum on the programme. To date, this has not been provided. After that December meeting, the distrust ran so deep that the WICB asked that all the agreements be documented.

"There was agreement on about a dozen areas that had to be straightened out," another source explained. At the top of the list was the need for a Head Coach to be appointed in consultation with the WICB.

The board then proposed that Jeff Dujon, the former Test wicket-keeper who is under contract until October this year, be given that job.

Instead, Webster ignored the WICB's cricket people and approached Roger Harper to offer him the job. Harper, who had already decided not to reapply for the West Indies coaching job, has since been appointed as Head Coach of the academy.

Although the WICB's first choice was Dujon, a source stressed that the board "fully supported" Harper's appointment. The board also won approval for Kenny Benjamin to work as the bowling coach but Webster's unilateral choice of Darnley Boxill has angered many in and out of Antigua.

"Boxill is not a coach recognized by the WICB's cricket people. There are many other coaches that fit into the board's coaching strategy. There were no consultations whatsoever on that appointment."

"They had all these agreements after that December meeting but nothing's really changed. Webster is still acting like he owns the place and no one is really going to question him because he's part of the old boys' network," one angry source declared.

Webster, a Radiologist by profession who played professional cricket for Warwickshire in the 1960s, has been a close ally of several members of the board's Executive Committee, the all-powerful decision-making body for cricket in the region.

Another major agreement from that December meeting was the need for improved physical facilities and stricter curfews and pastoral care, which were sore points from the 'Toot Byron Report'.

For now, the 2003 programme has started with 24 youth players from around the Caribbean but the board is at a loss about what improvements were made. "The Board is going on promises. Webster says things have improved and that's about all we know. They are going into a new program with all the same problems that were highlighted by the Australian coaches," a source complained.

COSMETIC CHANGES
Barring the appointment of a Head Coach with assistants, all the changes made since the 'Toot Byron Report' have been cosmetic. And, even with those minor changes, it's another case of the WICB hanging onto promises from Webster and the University.

The two sides had agreed back in December to improve the cricket equipment used by the Academy participants. Specifically, there was need for a new bowling machine and a digitiser, which is used for video analysis during coaching sessions. The program has started without either of those. "We are told they have been ordered, so we'll wait and see," an official noted.

"They ordered the extra equipment but there are still many unresolved issues. The issues of pastoral care for the players and the problem with Webster's personality and ego are all still very much a problem. Webster has handpicked these coaches to work with him, which is a problem because there were really no consultations, especially on Boxill."

"Hopefully, because they are his choices, he (Webster) won't interfere with the work of the coaches."

Efforts to reach Webster were not successful. CaribbeanCricket.com contacted the WICB's Chief Cricket Development Officer Michael Seepersaud who refused to comment on any of the issues raised except to affirm that the Board has confidence in Roger Harper's professionalism and that they are better prepared for this year's programme.

The WICB pays in excess of US$150,000 to the University to fund the three-month program. From that money, which comes mostly from the Shell sponsorship, the salaries of the coaching and other staff, including Webster, are paid.

After publicly promising to "make the appropriate public comment" after a review of the Toot Byron report, the WICB has gone to great lengths to hush up queries about its response to the fiasco. At a press conference in Trinidad & Tobago recently to announce the 2003 programme, all questions about the controversy were refused by the organisers.

Webster himself has kept a low profile over the last year. Once, WICB boss Wes Hall said the process of responding to the report was delayed because Webster was ill and, in the Barbados Nation, Webster himself declined comment because his attorneys were looking into the allegations in the report.

This week, Webster was quoted in a CMC report but did not address the fundamental issues raised by the Australian coaches. He dismissed the criticisms and suggested the juicy parts of their report was in reaction to differences they had in how the programme should be executed.

"I think we've done pretty well at the Shell Cricket Academy," Webster told CMC. "In the last two years, three students have really come out of the blue and have made it to Test cricket. I'm talking about Ryan Hinds, Dave Bernard and Carlton Baugh," he said.

He also identified graduates Kerry Jeremy and Sylvester Joseph, who both played ODI cricket for the West Indies, as success stories.

What Webster declined to mention was that the programme has been mired in distasteful events, including a rape charge against spinner Dave Mohammed and a murder of one of the helpers at the Academy. (Mohammed has since been cleared of the rape allegations). In previous programmes, indiscipline among players have also been reported.

So, as the 24 youths go through the 2003 programme, the chasm of distrust continues to widen. And, it's all because the old boys' network remains up and running.