Vox Pop: Fans React to Lucky Report

New West Indies Cricket Board President Ken Gordon faces a tough task of trying to turn around public perception of the organization he now heads. Findings of the commission set up by former President Teddy Griffith to investigate the awarding of West Indies cricket sponsorship to telecommunications company Digicel in favour of the incumbent Cable & Wireless, are making the airwaves.

The public is shaking its collective head and pointing fingers after hearing about the conclusions contained in the Lucky Report, submitted by the three-man commission of Justice Anthony Lucky, Gregory Georges and Avondale Thomas. They are also talking about what Ken Gordon should do when he holds a special meeting of WICB Directors on Sunday 4 September in Antigua.

roving reporter Michelle McDonald ventured out to three cricket grounds in Jamaica this weekend, where the quarter finals of the local one day competition were being played. With the tape rolling, spectators who have been following the trail of the Lucky Report answered two main questions.

What are your thoughts after hearing about what is in the Lucky Report? What action should Ken Gordon take?

Please note. These are mere spectators. These are the people who have in the past shelled out many dollars to watch the West Indies team play. These are the people who the WICB perhaps believe should not be privy to their private business.

I think that the Board is in the wrong. WIPA cannot be negotiating and don't know what the terms are, so the Board was wrong. Transparency? I'm in full agreement with that. They're worrying about how it was leaked; what was leaked?!?. This is West Indies cricket, not a social club! What was leaked is supposed to come to the public.

They say they lost off the South Africa and Pakistan tours. Is because the members of the Board didn't go to cricket? Or spectators? Oh! Spectators more important than the Board. Is not a private business!

The people who the report showed that were in the wrong must be fired!

Well, what a way to start off this report. He's mighty passionate about his cricket, yes he is. When some other persons in his group were asked to comment, they said he was their official spokesman?.

The board seems to be way off the ball in this regard. If the way they reportedly treated Cable & Wireless is how they did, then obviously it's unethical, the way they have behaved.

I'd make some personnel changes and we would have to re-look at the contract as well, and the whole process, and deal with the recommendations that came out of the report.

A calmer, more succinct response from this spectator.

A lot needs to be answered for by the WICB because if even half the facts based on the Lucky report are true, something very serious seemed to have happened. I think the West Indian public needs an explanation because West Indies cricket is in a state now and a lot of us blamed the cricketers and thought that they were the ones that may have been unreasonable, when it appears now that something underhand has taken place.

The first thing I think he needs to do is demand a resignation of everybody that was involved, pending an investigation. He needs to move as quickly as possible to rectify the situation with the players to get West Indies team, at least the best team, back on the field and move from there.

Suddenly, with public access to the findings, the formerly berated players are coming out smelling like roses. Hmmmm.

(This spectator was asked 'Do you think the dealings were above board?)

In the main yes, but the initial thing about the choice with deciding on whether Cable & Wireless or not, that isn't too clear as yet, but hopefully in the discussions with the new President of the WICB, that should come out.

If it actually comes out that initially Cable & Wireless didn't get the first preference since they were carrying it for so many years, then I think that the whole thing should be reneged on and a whole new round of negotiations be started in terms of all the different persons who are interested in sponsoring.

Ah well?he can dream, can't he?

I believe the Board is poor with the whole of the administration and so forth. The CEO is one of the people who is the weak link in it. The former president had the CEO as Marketing and CEO, so that is not fair to him either because he couldn't be doing a good job. Since he moved into the CEO job however, is foolishness him doing because going by reports that you read and listening to some of what Simon [Crosskill] saying, and in an interview he gave Simon, is obvious that he's, I would actually say, not up to date with what is going on. I don't believe him do a good job so him have to try and straighten out himself the best way it look to the public.

The CEO supposed to be the person who they ask to resign, but the President not going to do any great thing either, because you can't have a man who has never been in the cricket, he has never run for no other post and he win unopposed. So the fact that him win unopposed that mean that 70% of what going on there, him going to go with.

The same spectator now voices off on the election of the new President.

Him is 75 years old and if him was involved with the cricket and was voted in and lose and this is his time now, I would go with some of the things, but the fact that is the first time him running. You have a Vice President (Val Banks) who serve under two other Presidents and him not capable to be nominated as President?

I suggest to the spectator that maybe the Vice President didn't want to be President, reminding him that it is not a paying job. He retorts with this??

Well him is not supposed to be there. Because the fact is that he has worked under two Presidents and him don't do a good job either so it don't make sense him is there.

So there??

It proved that it's a set of incompetent people that was running the board. ('That are running the board', I remind him) Yes, they are still, well at least one is out, but I guess the main body is still there right? Yup.

So incompetent people. The report shows that a lot of, I wouldn't say dishonesty, but I can't even say if it's ignorance because it's supposed to be bright people and it was a simple clause they let just pass through like that. These people supposed to be bright people mi love?? wholeheapa (a lot of) degrees and all them something there, and when them make something like that happen it's sad for the game of cricket.

That is the only unifying force in the Caribbean ? the cricket ? and we have been successful over the years, because we ruled world cricket for 20 years and I didn't hear we had any great business people at that time running the cricket. The best President that West Indies cricket ever had was Allan F Rae and he wasn't a business man. He was a cricketer and that was the most successful period of West Indies cricket.

So you think the President needs to be a former cricketer?

Not necessarily be president but what I'm upset about is that Clive Lloyd???.I don't know what they have against Clive Lloyd, but this man is a world man and that part of our success during the course of the 1970's, Clive Lloyd was at the helm of it along with Allan Rae.

Ah, so that's what's bugging him. Lloyd wasn't voted in as neither President nor Vice President.

I don't see why they keeping out cricket out of the cricket. They keeping cricket out of the cricket yes! And is pure bankers I see in the thing. (One of the gentlemen in his group adds "bankers and skankers". I can assure you that in Jamaican parlance, you do not want to be referred to as a skanker).

We need cricket in the cricket. Cricket must go back in the cricket and the most fitting person to be leading cricket is a man named Clive Hubert Lloyd. I don't want to hear that this and that did happen because everybody makes mistakes in life, so whatever it is, make them stop fight Clive Lloyd and bring him inna the cricket because he should have been at least the Vice President in charge of cricket.

I remind him that Ken Gordon is the President and asked him to suggest what action should he take at the meeting?

It's an experienced man; a world businessman a very successful businessman so since is business people supposed to be running it, he's supposed to know how to handle whenever a manager or a supervisor in his organization slip up or mess up, how he's supposed to treat them.

Detected the sarcasm, did you?

He was then asked "Supposed that had happened in your organization and you were the chief head cook and bottle washer, what would you do?"

I woulda resign man. In the interest of the game and the country, I would resign.

Who should resign?

I wouldn't say, but they know who is to resign. They know. I don't have to tell them who is to resign. They know who is to resign.

Whoever the Lucky Report point to, they are the ones to resign and they know themselves.

No further comments needed! The people have spoken. The ball is in your crease now Mr Gordon.