Will Cameron give up power for the sake of reform?TONY COZIER
The WICB's recommended overhaul would depend on its president's willingness to bite the bullet and let go
Dave Cameron's belief in his invincibility is likely to be decisive in determining the fate of the WICB
Yet another effort has been made to revive long-suffering West Indies cricket. It is likely to be the last.
The necessary medication that needs to be administered was presented last Wednesday in a comprehensive report by an independent committee of eminent West Indians that spent three months in consultation, interviews, deliberations and meetings, fulfilling its mandate to "review the administrative and governance structure of the West Indies Cricket Board".
The review was instigated by Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments, through their cricket governance sub-committee; it was jointly agreed on and the panel in charge was appointed by the Caricom group and the WICB after a straight-talking meeting last April that stressed the urgency of the situation.
Headed by Dr Eudine Bariteau, principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) campus in Barbados, it comprised the president of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr Warren Smith; and of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Sir Denis Byron; former West Indies wicketkeeper Deryck Murray; and Grenada Cricket Association president and WICB director Dwayne Gill. It was a heavyweight body that pulled no punches in assessing the condition of the WICB and the action needed to raise West Indies cricket from its sick bed.
The report's main recommendation was that the WICB "should be immediately dissolved and all current members resign while an interim board is selected". That would evolve into a completely new organisation with a structure and composition "radically different from the now proven obsolete governance framework".
Signs are that Cameron, backed by other directors who represent the six territorial boards that are its shareholders, will fight to keep the WICB intact
The WICB had twice rejected similar tough therapy stipulated by panels it commissioned itself. Both came to basically the same conclusions as the Bariteau report. Former Jamaica prime minister PJ Patterson presented the findings and recommendations of his committee in 2007. He later complained that its preparation represented "a wasted year of my life". St Kitts Queen's Counsel Charles Wilkin charged that his committee's proposal was turned down by WICB directors who "wanted to preserve at all costs all of their positions on the board". Julian Hunte was the WICB president then; Dave Cameron, who succeeded him in 2012, was vice-president. Some of the directors from then are still in place.
The significant difference this time was noted by Keith Mitchell, prime minister of Grenada, who is chairman of the relevant Caricom sub-commitee. It was that the leaders of the cricketing Caribbean governments, rather than the WICB, initiated the intervention. They were concerned with the impact of West Indies' lowly status on the psyche of a public still passionate over a game that had been a metaphor for sporting excellence. United, they carry considerable clout. In presenting the group's findings, Bariteau said its harsh conclusion was based on the reality that West Indies cricket is "in a state of disarray".
It described the board's rapport with players, and more recently suspended head coach Phil Simmons, as "fractious and problematic".
"The residual point is that there is a breakdown in key relationships necessary for the good management and performance of the team," the report stated.
The Bariteau report stated that without reform, the West Indies women's team faces a decline as sharp as the men's © WICB
It noted that the men's team was now ranked eighth in Tests and ninth in ODIs, meaning that it failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy in England in 2017. It is the first time since it won the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975 that West Indies will be absent from an ICC tournament. The state of affairs has remained much the same over the past two decades. The current disastrous tour of Sri Lanka has emphasised the decline.
The report also pays attention to women's cricket. West Indies are ranked fifth out of the ten international teams by the ICC. They recently defeated Pakistan in an ODI and T20 series in the Caribbean. The report regards the ICC's growing emphasis on this aspect of the game, along with the performances of the West Indies team, as "a potential area of strength for cricket in the 21st century Caribbean". At the same time, it charges that the women's game is not receiving the support it deserves from the WICB and the territorial boards. The concern is that without reform, the women could drift into the same "state of disarray" as the men.
The Bariteau report referred to the "potentially dangerous" breakdown in contacts between the WICB and the BCCI, triggered by the team's premature withdrawal from last year's tour of India. Significantly, the BCCI's working committee is set to review the case and its US$42 million claim for compensation for revenue lost from West Indies' pullout at a meeting this coming week. One way or the other, the WICB's future should have been determined by then.
Mitchell expects the WICB to comply with the recommendations of the report "since it participated fully" in setting it up. Signs are that president Cameron, backed by other directors who represent the six territorial boards that are its shareholders, are reluctant to conform and will fight to keep the WICB intact.
After receiving the Bariteau report, Cameron told Mitchell it would be discussed at the WICB's scheduled quarterly meeting on December 12, "with a view to enhancing the existing work of the secretariat and the board of directors". After that, it would choose a team of directors to present its case to the Caricom sub-committee.
Mitchell seemed to interpret it as a delaying tactic. He advised Cameron that the situation was critical enough to require a session well before December. Given the report's main recommendation, the WICB should be dissolved by then, with Cameron and the other members having resigned, and an interim board in place.
"That can't be a demonstration of the urgency that we seek," Mitchell said. "The heads of governments are certainly looking for an urgent meeting." He is still awaiting a reply.
Cameron's belief in his invincibility is likely to be decisive in determining the outcome. No president has been more repeatedly disparaged by public and press. Undeterred, he used the internet to post a defiant rejoinder. "They've criticised you. They've doubted you. They've lied on you. They've done all they can do, but one thing they can't do is stop you," he tweeted during his first term in office.
Those were not the words of one who would bow easily to pressure. Quite the opposite. For the WICB to collapse under his watch would be a telling blow to his ego.
The combined power of Caribbean governments and the self-evident need for reform stand in his way.
Tony Cozier has written about and commentated on cricket in the Caribbean for over 50 years
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