Who's to Blame?

The present status of West Indies cricket is not only heart-wrenching, but also totally against the expectations of the people of the Caribbean, who should be looking forward eagerly for a successful World Cup 2007.

Make no mistakes about it, but if the territorial planners of that grand event think that a World Cup can be successful without a competitive West Indies team, they better think again. Reality must by now be staring them straight in the face.

On many occasions, while lauding their preparation efforts, particularly those of Mr. Stephen Alleyne, CEO, World Cup Barbados and his committee, I have also asked the question: Who is preparing our team? I have also suggested that Sir Gary Sobers should be given the honour of working with the present team management in providing the framework and core membership of that 2007 team.

Up to now, nothing has been done, and rather than it getting better, the situation has gotten worse. The selectors have had to scrape the barrel to find players for this tour to Sri Lanka. In other words, young, inexperienced and unprepared cricketers, both in the ?A? team, as well as, in the senior side, now represent the international image of West Indies cricket.

I must agree, though, that the performance of the usual West Indies team (Lara, Gayle, Sarwan, Bravo, etc.) is largely the reason that we are ranked a distant number 8 in Test cricket, and that any new set of players would do our pride no greater damage than in the past. However, that unfortunate way of thinking cannot be held by the selectors and the Board, as it apparently is.

Money can not the principal reason for this irresolvable dispute between the WICB and WIPA, because up to now, I have no idea of the size of the financial package being paid to Bennett King and his entourage. Clearly it must be more, annually, than what the players are asking for on this occasion (Sri Lanka tour). And if we can afford Mr. King?s highly prized skills, which we are yet to see, then good judgment would dictate that concessionary terms and compromises were negotiating tools that would have allowed for some reasonable agreement.

Hence, I have to submit that it is not about money. Its has to be about the Digicel sponsorship and Digicel?s bitter resolve to use every weapon it can to fight a ?turf war? against its telecom competitors, especially, Cable & Wireless.

Again, I ask the question: Who is really selecting our team? For example, Joey Carew and the other selectors made their choices. What happens? Digicel and its contractual terms, onerous and unrepentant as they appear to be, rejected the majority of those players who were selected by the Board?s selectors, including the world?s number one batsman, Brian Charles Lara.

The answer is obvious. Digicel now seem to be the West Indies ?Selector in Chief?. It is a shame that such daftness could exist at the highest level in cricket administration in the Caribbean.

It is clear that the statement being made seem to be: We (Digicel/WICB) don?t care about Lara, the greatest West Indian batsman of all times, the future of the game, nor any programme to establish a sustainable competitiveness of the West Indies team at the international level.

However, I recalled the pompousness with which the Board bragged over its signing of this supposedly ?Best ever sponsorship deal? of US$20 million. Recent information, however, suggest that the WICB may not be getting the full value of the sponsorship money, and that a small, tidy sum of over US$2 million represents some kind of a deductible. After all, the offer did sounded ?too good to be true? in the first place.

Painfully, I also listen to the script, which our great legend and National Hero, Sir Gary, has been asked to read in the Digicel commercial, saying: ?Digicel is the Best thing that ever happen to West Indies cricket.? Well, well, well!

Both these issues raised ?red flags' in my mind, instantly. I believe that the behaviour of the Board in respect of the Digicel sponsorship and the phrasing of the ad, were elements of a ?tasteless public relations conscience?, particularly, after benefiting from eighteen years of Cable & Wireless? generousity.

Who?s to blame? Well, the man in the middle of all the controversies is the WICB?s CEO, Mr. Roger Brathwaite, who has already been judged in the press by the President/CEO of the West Indies Players? Association (WIPA). And the people of the region are also casting their own judgment as to the conduct and performance of Mr. Brathwaite in his job. However, the real question is: ?When will the territorial board representatives do the same??

One final word of caution to the mighty West Indies Cricket Board: the Board should note with particular interest, the fact that FIFA, the world?s governing body on football, recently suspended The Barbados Football Association. So, we must remember that the ICC holds similar powers, as the cricketing world witnessed in the case involving Zimbabwe. With the ICC World Cup 2007 just around the corner, I think the Board needs to ?play a little closer to the pad?.

* Carlisle Best is a former Barbados and West Indies opening batsman. He played in 8 Test matches in the 1980s and 90 first-class games for the Barbados national side.