Severe challenges have become cancerous
by JULIAN HUNTEIn recent months there have been considerable public dialogue and official negotiations that seek to address many of the challenges that face the advancement of West Indies cricket, both as a peoples' culture, and as an international standard of performance of West Indian people.
Much of this has focused on the ongoing decline in the performance of the West Indies Team, a process of decline which began in the mid-1990s. Some of it, however, has sought to link the performance of the Test Team to the governance structure of the WICB and its management operation which we have long admitted is under resourced and in need of further skills development. While we recognize the critical importance of these matters, we should also be aware that more severe challenges have become cancerous in West Indies cricket. Some of these challenges are not unique to West Indies cricket, though they are having a severe impact on our business on and off the field.
The first of these relates to the indiscipline and lack of accountability that afflicts many of our cricketers; we are now feeling the full impact of this development. Our great former captain, Clive Lloyd, has spoken of this mentality and indicated that is a matter to be addressed now or all will be lost.
Some West Indies players have refused, over a period of two years, to sign their contracts, and have refused to represent the West Indies. They have withdrawn their services in a manner and at a time calculated to inflict maximum damage upon the WICB’s ability to manage the affairs of West Indies cricket.
Some have argued that this indiscipline and unaccountability should be overlooked and ignored for the sake of short term convenience. We are concerned about the message which this sends to West Indian youth and our society in general at a time of great turbulence in West Indian society.
The WICB is seeking through the collective bargaining process to find common ground with WIPA on a new Memorandum of Understanding that will put these matters behind us and establish a true partnership agreement between the Board and its Players. No player will be allowed in future to represent West Indies cricket on the field without a signed contract. This is a principle we have implemented. The current players that are representing the West Indies at the ICC Championship event in South Africa have all signed their contracts.
The WICB has set out a clear path to restore normalcy and promote development over the coming months. In addition, we are implementing a number of policies that we believe will redound to the benefit of the sport in our region, such as:
- All players must represent their countries in the regional competition during October and November in order to be eligible for selection to the Test and ODI Teams which will tour Australia at the end of the year. This is a necessary step to restore discipline and commitment and lay the foundation for optimum performance.
- The Regional Tournament will be restored to the traditional standard as mandatory.
Academy
The WICB has agreed to establish in October 2009 a Cricket Academy which will be a regional academy network, headquartered within the UWI system, and which will be supported by Sagicor Financial Corporation. This is a major project and will be a critical part of our renewed effort at modernization. The Sagicor/WICB Academy will assist in the development of a new mentality and level of professionalism among our future and current players.
Patterson Report
The WICB, as agreed with the Caricom Cricket Sub-committee under the distinguished chairmanship of the Hon. Baldwin Spencer, will implement the establishment of a Cricket Stakeholders’ Council. There will be a Caricom/WICB Cricket Conference at which the details of this Council will be set out. As stated before, Professor Greene of Caricom and Professor Beckles of UWI are working towards a date of November 28, 2009 for this conference, from which the Council will emerge.
At our last meeting with the Caricom Cricket Sub-committee this agreement to have a stakeholders’ Council, in an advisory capacity to the WICB for three (3) years in the first instance with a subsequent view to further reforms, was accepted as a critical, progressive step to deeper and wider participation of all stakeholders in the affairs of WICB.
By the end of this year we will have our strongest available Team in Australia, and we would have discharged our ethical and professional obligation to the courageous young players who stepped up and represented West Indies cricket at a most difficult time. These young players are the future and we are proud of them, and wish them the best in South Africa. They will return home and mingle with the senior players in the regional competition. West Indies cricket will be the stronger for it. WICB was pleased with the firm and visionary support the team received from Sir Garry Sobers, Dr. Rudi Webster, Rev. Dr. Wes Hall, Mr. Rawle Brancker, and all the other stalwarts who wish to see discipline and dedication return to West Indies cricket.
Our standing as a legacy world cricket culture is dependent on the resolution of these issues that have been degenerating for over a decade. We have given our international partners the assurance that we will deal with these challenges (as we gave them support when it was their turn to have similar experiences) and that a deliberate path has been laid out to restore the pride of West Indies cricket.
We are urging the public, all stakeholders of West Indies cricket, and especially our committed players and our governments, to lend their support to the path we have laid out, and the institutional reforms we have in train.
We are aware of the passions raised and the feelings of hurt being experienced, but we urge our fans, supporters, and governments especially, to recognize that at this time, the best path for West Indies cricket is that which we have carefully set out, and on which WICB has embarked. It will not be easy. As John F. Kennedy stated, going to the moon was not easy, it was hard but necessary for our advancement with confidence and greater knowledge.
The WICB in the midst of these challenges is doing what is best for West Indies cricket, and we urge your continued critical support and patience at this time as we put these plans and policies in place.
* Julian Hunte is president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)