BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Ramnaresh Sarwan and his fitness has now become the catalyst for another explosion of vitriol between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players’ Association.
The WICB issued a media release in the early afternoon on Wednesday looking to “set the record straight on Sarwan’s fitness”, and “expose more WIPA misinformation”.
A few hours later, WIPA shot back, and maintained its position “on the ill-treatment of Sarwan” by the WICB with his injuries suffered while playing for West Indies over the last year.
WIPA still contends that it was wrong for the WICB not to offer Sarwan a retainer contract for 2010 to 2011.
“WIPA maintains its position on the misdiagnosis and treatment meted out to Sarwan by the WICB on his injuries suffered while playing for the West Indies team,” a media release from the players’ body stated.
“Interestingly, WIPA notes with much interest the WICB’s failed attempt in its release to set the record straight with its deafening silence on the issues related to the comments made by the CEO of the WICB Ernest Hilaire, as well as to the correspondence between him and WIPA.”
But in its official response to a WIPA media release on Monday condemning its decision not to offer Sarwan a central retainer contract, the WICB challenged the players’ association’s contention about the diagnosis of a back injury the batsman sustained on tour of Australia at the end of last year.
“The actual initial diagnosis given to Ramnaresh was a likely disc sprain, with associated muscular spasms, and possible nerve root entrapment,” stated the WICB.
“Team management arrangements ensured that Ramnaresh was reviewed almost immediately at the ground when the injury occurred by a renowned sports medicine specialist, as well as more detailed examinations during the first days of the first Test match at Brisbane.
“After exhaustive consultation among the specialists a programme of treatment was agreed upon.”
The WICB added that it never refused to schedule or pay for a medical scan for Sarwan, after the pain in his back intensified in Australia.
“The pain exacerbation prior to the third Test was caused by the flight from Adelaide to Perth, where as is common, he had an increase in pain due to prolonged air travel,” stated the WICB.
“Sarwan was informed of the clinical reasoning of the Sports Medicine & Radiology Specialist’s management during the second Test, where he was told further investigations would not add anything to the current diagnosis.”
The WICB stated: “Ongoing treatment did alleviate some of the symptoms, but as mentioned earlier he was never going to be playing without pain, something he was instructed about in Adelaide.”
The WICB noted that it had arranged with Cricket Australia – prior to the tour – that all medical costs and expenses for West Indies in Australia would have been paid by the Aussies, with reimbursement coming from St. John’s later.
“This is a usual arrangement between cricketing nations when tours are agreed upon,” stated the WICB.
“For WIPA to assert that the team management refused to pay for an MRI scan for Ramnaresh is wholly inaccurate, disingenuous, and a clear attempt at feeding the public false information in an attempt to mislead.
“Further it is not a practice for a player to decide what and when he needs particular treatment or assessment.”
The WICB also dispelled WIPA’s assertion that Sarwan had reached an acceptable standard of fitness ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup staged in the Caribbean.
“The purpose of the Jamaica Cricket Festival (which is what WIPA apparently dubs “the Ireland Series”) for the West Indies team was to provide much needed match fitness, and ongoing management of the team physiotherapist and fitness trainer,” stated the WICB.
“Ramnaresh has been repeatedly told by the team specialists that his fitness levels need improving. A fitness test in Jamaica at the conclusion of the Jamaica Cricket Festival showed the ongoing training had further increased his levels of fitness, however, Ramnaresh was still below the required level.”
The WICB continued: “Head coach Ottis Gibson contacted Ramnaresh, a contracted player, to arrange for him to go to the High Performance Centre in Barbados for rehabilitation under expert care and to assess him ahead of the third Test against South Africa.
“Ramnaresh, a contracted player, informed head coach Gibson that he was planning to travel to Canada to see ‘a friend’, who is a chiropractor. Ramnaresh was encouraged to follow the instructions of head coach Gibson, but did not, and chose to head to Canada at his own cost to follow his own programme.”