ECB Mistreatment of Windies

When the West Indies team arrived in England earlier this month, the reception was like a hard slap in the face.

For starters, no one from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was on hand to receive the team at the airport. Players were forced to individually clear immigration and customs, before securing and transporting all their own luggage.

Making matters worse, there was no transportation available to take the West Indians to the team hotel. Things got so bad that the players were forced to wait on the roadside close to the parking lot for more than an hour until a coach arrived, according to information reaching CaribbeanCricket.com.

More than a week into the tour, no one from the ECB or a county club had formally welcomed the team.

On June 21, the day of the warm-up game against Kent, the West Indies team bus was forced to sluggishly make its way through horrendous traffic without a police escort. An accident caused part of the designated route to be blocked off but there was no escort available to get the team to the venue on time.

Upon arrival at Beckenham, the West Indies barely had enough time for a 10-minute warm-up before the match, which was eventually reduced to 48 overs per side.

The mistreatment is in sharp contrast to the way the WICB lays out the red carpet for teams visiting the Caribbean. When visitors arrive in the Caribbean, liaisons are on hand at the airport to take care of all customs and immigration duties, players wait in the VIP lounge, buses are ready and waiting and police escorts are provided.

Sometimes, even the West Indies team (ready for departure) has to even wait on the visiting team just so that all parties can be escorted by one escort.

"Every whim and fancy of the players and management are attended to. Quite frankly we treat them like royalty and they treat us like s--t."