Richie: 'Time to Replace WICB'

Former West Indies skipper Richie Richardson has a straightforward fix for the ongoing crisis threatening the game in the Caribbean: Get rid of the WICB and find business-minded individuals to take over West Indies cricket administration.

"We've had a number of problems over the years, and the game has advanced and we have remained stagnant, if not retrogressed. I believe the best thing for West Indies cricket right now is to give somebody who has serious money and who is a serious businessman and who is willing to invest in West Indies cricket and restore it," the 43-year-old Richardson told the Antigua Sun newspaper.

Richardson, who captained the regional side in 24 Tests in the mid-1990s, said the latest dispute is not surprising, given the WICB's historic disrespect of its cricketers. "It's really sad. For some of our best players to be fit and not be represented on the West Indies team, is very disappointing and very disturbing.

Richardson said the dispute "is something that should have been sorted out a long time ago and probably not allowed to develop to the stage that it is at, at the moment."

"For these things to happen, I think it is really poor. We should be focussing on trying to make sure that West Indies cricket is returned to what it was sometime ago and not to be making silly mistakes and having fights between the board and players. It's just going to make things even worse."

Richardson, who averaged 44.39 in 86 Tests, said it was easy to pin the blame on the players but insisted that "the biggest downfall in West Indies cricket is the administration."

He suggested that regional leaders "advertise for a serious businessman, a company or an organisation to run West Indies cricket like a business."

on the current dispute, Richardson noted that when players sign contracts, it becomes hard to opt out "unless you can come together and amicably decide on a settlement."

"If both sides are not talking and they are not happy to come to some kind of a solution then it's a serious problem," he said.

He said the warning signs about the misadministration of West Indies cricket has been visible for a while. ""I was frustrated with a lot of things as West Indies captain. I just thought when are we going to start realising that everybody is changing and we have got to move with the times."

He said the board never respected the players, even dating back to the era of Lloyd, and "we got the impression then that all that we could do was play cricket."