Anyone who believes that individual Caricom states could make their way in world cricket at the same elevated level as the West Indies and that their players could therefore continue to benefit in fame and remuneration at that level – any such person is seriously delusional. The magnificent performance by the Trinidad and Tobago team in the recent Twenty/20 Champions League was a wonderful sampling of West Indies talent, cheered on by all West Indians, just as victorious New South Wales so admirably represented not only their own state but all Australia. Tournaments like these will become quite common in future and that is a good development. But they will not be a substitute for the great international encounters which truly define the game.
Fortunately, the open warfare between WICB and WIPA has yielded to a ceasefire which may in time lead to an armistice. And, who knows, even peace and reconciliation may break out soon giving rise to the sort of partnership between administration and players which will immensely strengthen our prospects.
As West Indies cricket gets back on track after its frightening time in the wilderness, I have one or two immediate wishes I pray some genie will grant as I rub the lamp of my imagination.
One: Starting with the new team, let us all get behind Captain Chris Gayle and give him our enthusiastic support. Let him feel confident that he will be called upon to lead the West Indies in all forms of the game for an extended period. Then I believe all doubts about his commitment will fall away. The frustration which led him earlier this year in England to question his future in Test cricket arose directly from the single most absurd decision made by the WICB in a lengthy list of questionable decisions – the agreement to risk the Worrell Trophy by playing only two Tests in cold English weather without preparation when we had just regained the Trophy after an arduous home tour.
Two: As a matter of urgency the cricket Academy, in gestation for so long, must be inaugurated in Barbados with subsidiary centres of excellence in other territories, securely funded and properly administered – an essential, long-term institution for developing cricket in the region.
Three: We must improve and liven up the pitches our teams play on in the region – take the cushion out of them, give them some zip and lift, make them true and very fast. Quite apart from anything else, the cricket played on such pitches will be more exciting.
Four: In 2000 the West Indies lost their previous right to share in the profits of overseas tours. This was a stunning financial blow. The ICC ruling which brought that about tremendously favoured the larger and more developed countries. We should seek to regain in some form a share of the often huge profits made on these tours. Of course, when our team resumes its place among the leaders the case for sharing in the profits we help to generate in their backyards will become much easier to make. After all, to mix up metaphors a bit, the better the tune, the more the piper pays.
Five: Everyone – Caricom, the WICB, WIPA, the media, past players, the Umpires’ Association, the Women’s Cricket Association, certainly all those interviewed or consulted by the Patterson Committee on West Indies Cricket Governance – everyone in the region agrees that West Indies cricket belongs to the West Indian people. But this ownership is not reflected in the current structure of how cricket is administered in the West Indies. Therefore as urgently as possible a new structure, reflecting all the stakeholders in the region, should be discussed at a General Assembly of all the interests and then put in place.
Six: The WICB, or better yet a reconstituted governing body, should mark a new era by not only building and fielding a team which again climbs towards the top of international cricket but also by participating fully and imaginatively in ICC deliberations as the game grows worldwide and prospers. For instance, since the ICC has designated the WICB to be the focal point for expanding the scope of cricket in the Americas, should we not be vigorous in assisting the growth of the game in the USA and Canada and even, perhaps Brazil? And, another example, might we not be in the forefront of an ICC move to get Twenty/20 cricket included as an Olympic sport in 2020?
And now as a re-energised West Indies team, back from the brink, gets ready to take on our great rivals over the years yet again, I give the lamp one last and very vigorous rub and request that they play well and fight hard and bring back, astonishingly, a downunderdog win on the field but, even more important than that, bring back a victory of the spirit for all the region.
