Wilkin Report recommends longer terms for WICB executive

A new governance report commissioned by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is proposing that WICB directors -- including the president and vice president -- serve longer terms.

The "Wilkin Report" also proposes that the president and vice president only serve a maximum of two terms in office.  Here are some details:

The report, which was commissioned by the WICB in 2011, contains 17 recommendations dealing with the restructuring of the Board of Directors, some of which are similar to the recommendations contained in the Patterson Report of 2007.

Some of the similarities include an increase in the length of a term that directors are allowed to serve from two to three years, as well as reducing the number of directors from each territory from two to one and increasing the number of independent directors from four to six.

It was also recommended that the term of the WICB president and vice-president should be extended from two years to three years, with each only being allowed to serve a maximum two terms in office.

In justifying some of the recommendations, the report said: "We note for example that since 2000, WICB has had five presidents, six CEOs and seven captains. The turnover of players has also been enormous. Those facts in and of themselves serve as an indictment of the Board of Directors and justify substantial structural changes to the BOD.

"We recognise the strong contribution made to the WICB by the so-called 'independent directors'. We prefer not to use that form of reference and to call them elected directors...an increase in the number of elected directors will be beneficial to WICB," the report continued.

It further stated: "The restructuring we recommend will bring new additional expertise to the direction of West Indies cricket, allow greater involvement of the stakeholders and provide a better balance of the BOD between directors appointed by the territorial boards and elected directors."

See more in the Trinidad Express newspaper.