Dear Editor,
I hope the proposed meeting between the CARICOM cricket committee and the West Indies Cricket Board would not simply be another talk shop and that the board would be told in no uncertain terms that West Indies cricket does not belong to their old boys’ network but to all West Indians. At least the board must bring back Chris Gayle, give Ramnaresh Sarwan another chance and start selecting players on merit rather than their capacity to kowtow to the board and on insularity. Also the board must be instructed to start implementing the recommendations of the Patterson Commission in order to effect full transparency and accountability as part of a process of reformation. And a process must be initiated to transform the board from a private enterprise into a public enterprise so that the ownership of our cricket is made pellucidly clear.
Now that some heads of state have interjected themselves into the dialogue on West Indies cricket it is my fervent hope that pressure will keep mounting. And perhaps the best way of ensuring this is for fans to take the very painful step of boycotting the upcoming series with Australia. Unless this is done fans would have no right to moan and groan about the antics and idiosyncrasies of the board. So come on guys, make the sacrifice and boycott this series so that we can reclaim our cricket and start the process of climbing back to the top.
Yours faithfully,
Annan Boodram