Dear Editor,

I read a recent newspaper article published by the venerable Dr Alfred Sangster in which he outlined a multi-point proposal geared at reconstituting the Board and structure of West Indies Cricket. The proposal it appears comes on the heels of the submission of a bill for just under $42 million by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as compensation for losses suffered by the abandonment of the West Indies tour of that country last year.

The facts related to that issue has already been made public and while there has been condemnation of the participants, it is my belief that not enough has been said or done among the participating islands of the Caribbean archipelago relative to what has been the most disastrous episode in the 87 year history of West Indies cricket.

While still a major sport, cricket has lost its appeal among the masses within the region especially since the demise of the Windies aggregation as a major force in this world sport which began with the Waugh brothers’ hatchet job at Sabina Park on May 3rd 1995. Thus began the longest losing streak of any team in world sport with neither players nor administrators having any workable ideas of how to not only cauterize the losses of the unit but also to put together a structure designed to develop a pool of talent in the islands and by extension the game across the region.

While I am gutted by the disaster that has become the West Indies Cricket team, I must say that I am not surprised. In fact it has been nothing short of a virtual miracle that West Indies cricket as an institution has survived this long. From the very beginning the sport in the region has been dogged by racial and territorial insularities. Prior to 1950 only the so called “Big Four” territories Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad represented the region and team selection as well as Board representation reflected island dominance with Barbados and Trinidad enjoying most representation. Further, the “old boys” network underpinned the WICBC structure with very little if at all any involvement by the regional governments. This was the platform on which the game developed and claims of insularity were pushed aside by the team’s generally favourable fortunes during this period.

Between 1962 and 1982 though the state of affairs changed dramatically as the sport in the region came into the cross hairs of the sweeping movement towards political independence among the islands. These changes coincided with the professionalization of the sport globally which not only changed attitudes among the membership of the WICBC but also among the players. During this period, playing West Indies cricket became a profession and while we developed the roots of our strength we also began to sow the seeds of our own demise. The first open conflict between the players and the WICBC reared its head in late 1978 when the Clive Lloyd-led players were barred from playing for the regional side because of their emerging contracts with Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. This matter was only settled when the UK Privy Council ruled in favour of WSC with Lord Slade’s judgment that the actions of the Boards including the WICBC was an illegal restraint of trade. This became the genesis of antagonism between the Board and players and in all cases matters affecting the two groups were always addressed without interference from the governments in the region.

Caricom’s formation in 1973 was intended to promote the strengthening of regional accord on economic/trade, social, cultural and political issues but the concept has never actually gained meaningful traction among territorial governments. In the circumstances the WICB and its charges co-existed as any mistrustful but interdependent unit would. It was this state of affairs that piloted the upgrade of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) as the bargaining unit for the players. At the same time the culture among the Board was being cemented by marriages of convenience between sub-regional membership blocks who colluded to determine its leadership composition. The result was the continuation of the “old boy’s network” underpinned by a different model of insularity. West Indies cricket under such circumstances meandered along as two interdependent but somewhat independent entities. This has been and continues to be the problem and no amount of proposals laid will halt the slide until the two groups appreciate that they answer to the fans and the sponsors, not themselves. The WICB must take full responsibility for its failure to own its responsibilities headlined by developing and managing a structure for the game in the region. Implicit in this is that it is the WICB and not the players that are responsible for the abandonment of the Indian Tour. In the circumstances I agree with Dr Sangster that they must resign en bloc. The remaining proposals though require Caricom’s involvement if the game at this level is to survive. I cannot support a call for Sir IVA Richards to chair any committee geared at rehabilitating the game as I am not satisfied that beyond his unquestionable skills as a player, that he has demonstrated that kind of organizational and leadership skills. I do believe though that if we are to recover as a group we must first come together as one group. That only happens by embracing the burning urgency of now.

Richard Blackford