debut: 2/16/17
39,581 runs
TTCB’s 15-year betrayal— How selfish power plays buried T&T’s cricket legacy
My dear readers, I know what you’re thinking: “Who cares what Colin did on his Sunday?” And you’d be right, usually. But this particular Sunday, my serene sporting bubble was burst, first by WhatsApp messages, then by an actual phone call, all asking the same question: “‘Where are the audits?” To be honest, I shook my head as if nothing surprises me anymore with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). For the last 15 years, the TTCB has perfected the art of the unsurprising disappointment. Nothing they do raises an eyebrow anymore; it’s practically a national pastime.Yes, for 15 long years, the TTCB has been mainly responsible for turning T&T’s once-vibrant cricket into a historical footnote. They will point to the success at the T20 or Super 50 level, but let’s be real—those wins had about as much to do with the administrators as my Savannah runs do with winning an Olympic gold. And I’m not afraid to be biased here, because frankly, I don’t care. The golden era of T&T cricket, from 2005 to 2009, saw T&T winning the 4-day title, dominating the Stanford T20 and 50-over formats, and even making it to the Champions League final in India, finishing as runners-up to New South Wales. That’s when T&T’s T20 stars burst onto the global stage, announcing themselves to the world, proving the goods were there.
The board at the time was like a dream team of cricket administrators, comprising some of the finest personnel in the country. The nominated members were Dr Claude Denbow SC, Elton Prescott SC, Franklyn Dolly (who owned his own counselling firm), Gerard Pinard (an HR manager with Angostura), Dyanand Birju of BWIA, and me. The first vice president was Bassarath, and the second vice president was the chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation, Leo Doodnath. A formidable lineup! The CEO was Forbes Persaud, a retired school teacher, and many other good board members, too numerous to mention, but unfortunately, as my mother would say, “One rotten egg can spoil the whole batch.” A handful of individuals, whom I’d initially pegged as decent folk, turned out to be self-seeking opportunists, caring more about their positions than the game itself.
In 2009, Bassarath wanted to become president, and in his own words at a welcoming function to greet a victorious T&T team when the president and the CEO were absent on cricket business, he said, “I am happy to welcome you, as the president and the CEO are always in the limelight, and it is my turn now.” Subtle, much? I should have realised then that something fishy was going on. Bassarath, clearly tired of being out of the limelight, formed his own splinter group, the Movement for Change. They won the election by a few votes, which prompted Dr Claude Benbow SC to walk out of the AGM, muttering something about “unscrupulous individuals”. Performance did not matter; what mattered was personal gain and positions held by certain people. As far as I was concerned, that day marked the burial of T&T cricket, never to rise again until a true leader emerges from the ashes, somewhere, somehow.
My dear readers, I know what you’re thinking: “Who cares what Colin did on his Sunday?” And you’d be right, usually. But this particular Sunday, my serene sporting bubble was burst, first by WhatsApp messages, then by an actual phone call, all asking the same question: “‘Where are the audits?” To be honest, I shook my head as if nothing surprises me anymore with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). For the last 15 years, the TTCB has perfected the art of the unsurprising disappointment. Nothing they do raises an eyebrow anymore; it’s practically a national pastime.Yes, for 15 long years, the TTCB has been mainly responsible for turning T&T’s once-vibrant cricket into a historical footnote. They will point to the success at the T20 or Super 50 level, but let’s be real—those wins had about as much to do with the administrators as my Savannah runs do with winning an Olympic gold. And I’m not afraid to be biased here, because frankly, I don’t care. The golden era of T&T cricket, from 2005 to 2009, saw T&T winning the 4-day title, dominating the Stanford T20 and 50-over formats, and even making it to the Champions League final in India, finishing as runners-up to New South Wales. That’s when T&T’s T20 stars burst onto the global stage, announcing themselves to the world, proving the goods were there.
The board at the time was like a dream team of cricket administrators, comprising some of the finest personnel in the country. The nominated members were Dr Claude Denbow SC, Elton Prescott SC, Franklyn Dolly (who owned his own counselling firm), Gerard Pinard (an HR manager with Angostura), Dyanand Birju of BWIA, and me. The first vice president was Bassarath, and the second vice president was the chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation, Leo Doodnath. A formidable lineup! The CEO was Forbes Persaud, a retired school teacher, and many other good board members, too numerous to mention, but unfortunately, as my mother would say, “One rotten egg can spoil the whole batch.” A handful of individuals, whom I’d initially pegged as decent folk, turned out to be self-seeking opportunists, caring more about their positions than the game itself.
In 2009, Bassarath wanted to become president, and in his own words at a welcoming function to greet a victorious T&T team when the president and the CEO were absent on cricket business, he said, “I am happy to welcome you, as the president and the CEO are always in the limelight, and it is my turn now.” Subtle, much? I should have realised then that something fishy was going on. Bassarath, clearly tired of being out of the limelight, formed his own splinter group, the Movement for Change. They won the election by a few votes, which prompted Dr Claude Benbow SC to walk out of the AGM, muttering something about “unscrupulous individuals”. Performance did not matter; what mattered was personal gain and positions held by certain people. As far as I was concerned, that day marked the burial of T&T cricket, never to rise again until a true leader emerges from the ashes, somewhere, somehow.
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