A Call For Effective Leadership In Regional Cricket
Wed, Mar 13, '19
In a few weeks, members of Cricket West Indies (CWI) will meet in Jamaica to select its next president and vice-president, a critical and historic decision that will determine the fate of West Indies cricket. For CWI to claim that West Indies cricket is in good health and that the board and the senior team have performed well in the last decade is an enormous stretch, bordering on the height of deception and hypocrisy.
A few years ago, the board announced that it would use the performance of the senior team as the barometer for its own performance. Unfortunately, that is not a good placard for the board because in the last decade West Indies cricket has languished near the bottom of the ICC Test and One-Day International rankings. The team has had the odd impressive wins, but so far, it has remained trapped in the bottom tier of those rankings.
Effective leadership is more important than it has ever been and yet, it is missing in too many of today’s organisations. It is the biggest problem that CWI and regional boards face. This is a challenge they must overcome if they wish to improve the standard of regional and international cricket.
Leadership should not be confined to the presidents and vice-presidents of CWI and regional boards. Everyone involved in cricket development and cricket performance must share that responsibility. This is the new reality cricket bodies must face, but CWI and regional boards have not yet accepted or adapted to that reality. Adjustment will not be easy. It will require significant changes in their vision, strategies, structures and leadership. But, when that adaptation happens, an extremely powerful force for the revival and rebirth of West Indies cricket will be released. Preserving the status quo is therefore no longer a sensible or viable option.
