All the grime and filth simmering below has now burst through to the surface as the shambolic handling of Regional cricket by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has once again been exposed big time.
This time the WICB picked on the wrong man.
Following Chris Gayle’s explosive radio interview, in countering the claims made by the board over his involvement in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) series, it is obvious who West Indian fans would give their sympathy.
It would be Gayle by a unanimous margin, not because he is the West Indies’ most prolific batsman over the last two years, or the most exciting to watch but rather simply due to the track records of the two parties.
Gayle all but accused the WICB of dishonesty and bullyism among other nefarious actions which he claimed affected his game, while also hammering team head coach Ottis Gibson for undermining the team’s chances at the World Cup with his treatment of key players.
According to Gayle, he also felt threatened and abandoned by the actions of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ernest Hilaire.
Bullyism is nothing new in the WICB armory of tactics.
In 2005, it worked well to get players to replace the established ones for the tour of Sri Lanka, following that infamous strike.
The board’s horrendous administration of the game, now and in the past, has been laced by some of the said accusations made by the former West Indies captain.
The question whether Gayle turned his back on West Indies cricket as the board claimed, to which the player vociferously denied, is the most volatile issue in the quarrel.
In the world of West Indies cricket, the Jamaican has never turned his back on the West team.
He once arrived two days before an ill-planned Test series in England, due to an IPL commitment but has never shunned selection otherwise.
All along he has given yeoman service throughout his years, playing injured, and mustering the energy, and determination to compile two Test triple centuries.
Based on the said accusations and others in the player’s revelations on Klas Radio, you get the clear impression the WICB is trying its utmost to find reasons to curtail Gayle’s West Indies career.
If he is portrayed as an unpatriotic, money-grabbing ingrate, it would be easy for the WICB to look justified in axing him permanently from the team.
In rushing to the media first, claiming he chose IPL before West Indies, the CEO played out the script.
Accusations by Hiliare that Gayle was aware of plans to gradually ease him back into the team, following his rehabilitation by their therapists from his stomach injury after the World Cup, would have given substance to the master plan.
Gayle countered with an astonishing claim that he was never spoken to by any board official during the period as he initiated and paid for his own rehab treatment.
In so doing the player also cast the WICB in more murkier waters by stating he only learnt about his non-selection for the first three Pakistan games, through the newspapers.
Putting oneself in Gayle’s shoes, and given the threatening language used by team head coach Ottis Gibson while hinting at the ouster of senior players following the team’s elimination in India, Gayle could not be faulted for assuming he was dropped and made use of the IPL offer that subsequently came along.
Given the fact that the WICB has not refuted claims that Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who along with Ramnaresh Sarwan comprise the targeted trio of seniors, was asked to retire from One Day competition, the nasty political strategies of the current regime, are indisputable.
Little did the WICB hierarchy expect though, that the Jamaican would have retaliated with such vengeance, which through his revelations could cost the board more than the player.
If they had done their homework, these WICB officials would have known Gayle is as gutsy, self-respecting and outspoken as any cricketer out there.
It was not too long ago he refused to buckle to demands for an apology for comments made about the board, by its former WICB president Ken Gordon, a man of greater acclaim than Hilaire and Hunte
Additional claims that he was being badgered by retirement talk by Hiliare prior to the World Cup, added fuel to the fire.
And a take it or leave it demand by Hilaire on the player’s World Cup tour contract, without scrutiny by advisors, all added to Gayle reaching boiling point, when he learnt of being accused of unpatriotism.
Such tactics for leverage are becoming a trademark of this WICB administration which according to the wicbexpose.com website is a haven for corrupt practices
The board has used similar tactics under the current leaders, in their many battles with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), even going to the extent of wasting meagre finances to buy advertisements in regional newspapers, to spin its side of the story.
The spin though, is in danger of unraveling in the face of Gayle’s onslaught and who knows, a few others from similarly fed up West Indian players.
