Holding: U-19 title can’t hide WICB flaws
Tuesday, February 23 2016
The following is an excerpt from West Indies fast bowling legend Michael Holding’s column published yesterday in Wisden India. Holding, an international commentator with Sky Sports, has been vocal in his criticism of the WICB.
The triumph of the West Indies Under-19 side at the World Cup over a week back was rightly praised. It was pleasing to see the young side come through unscathed on the world stage, and there were some quality cricketers in the team.
For all the well-deserved praise of the young side however, it is ridiculous that the victory is being used by some at the West Indies Cricket Board to portray the image that everything is fine in the Caribbean.
The same claim was being made when the senior team won the World Twenty20 in 2012, but where has our cricket gone since then? But I suppose that is to be expected. When the whole world is saying something is wrong, the WICB will grab at any passing straw.
I suppose they are looking for reasons to justify Dave Cameron, the WICB president, announcing the rejection of the proposals of the Caricom committee, which included the dissolution of the Board among other things. I’m not too sure exactly what the implications are. But it seems as though any report that is published, whether it’s commissioned by the WICB or otherwise, they just ignore it.
The Caricom prime ministers are a powerful group of people from the Caribbean with a lot of influence, but every time they say something or try to influence anything, the WICB just ignore it.
They keep on saying they’re a private entity, that they are registered outside of the cricket-playing Caribbean, and that their company is responsible only to their directors and shareholders.
It is imperative that the proposed changes are implemented. Everyone recognises around the world that things have changed with regards to governance of cricket and the running of the game. Boards have changed their constitutions and independent directors have come in and made substantial improvements to governance. And I will point to New Zealand in particular as a fine example – a similarly sized population and economy to the Caribbean, and an even less passionate cricket following.
But with the WICB, it would seem as though the people involved just don’t want to change. They’re happy with things as they are. They are autonomous, they answer to no one, and they want to remain that way.
To that end, they even questioned the credibility of the Caricom report. But it must be understood that these administrators will say and do whatever is needed to maintain the status quo. They have commissioned a host of different reports – the Patterson report, the Wilkin report – and the WICB had an input in every one of those committees.
They even helped select the Caricom committee, and had a board member on the committee! But when the reports come back suggesting change, they resist it because they are happy as is.
The players don’t trust the board and don’t want to deal with the board. The WICB keep trying to get rid of senior players and say the junior players are fine. But no sooner than the junior players become seniors, the problem pops its head up again. Darren Sammy was once their blue-eyed boy not too long ago. He now is at war with them. The onus, therefore, is with whoever holds the power, and the Caricom prime ministers themselves might have to use the power that they have. The WICB don’t own any cricket grounds around the Caribbean and that might have to be used as a stick against them.
(Wisden India)
