Though all member states of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) speak English, it seems their selection committee only speaks Exclusion.
The WICB may as well be named Public Enemy Number One for cricket fans across the Caribbean. As it ranges from disputes with coaches to disputes with top-ranked players, the WICB never ceases to make enemies anywhere they venture. As the governing body for cricket in the Caribbean, its executive has come under heavy fire for what many deem to be blunders made in the management process of the senior men’s West Indies team. Fans, current and former players as well as scholars of the sport have also bemoaned the decline in the performance of the team in recent years. The Cameron-led administration has been besieged by accusations of selective exclusion of top-ranked players as well as overall bad governance.
Exclusions
Anyone who follows cricket religiously may have noticed by now that the West Indies men’s team, in many series, has had to play without the likes of WI giants Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, all-rounder superstar Dwayne Bravo, and on previous occasions Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels. These players have been known by the cricketing fraternity as standouts in their respective roles, yet they have suffered from sudden and intermittent axing by the heavy hand of the WICB selection committee for reasons other than fitness and performance. The reasons given by the WICB have ranged from oppressive ‘policies’ geared at a need for exposing young and inexperienced players to not being eligible for selection due to non-participation in regional tournaments (note ‘policies’). While selecting players who have worked hard regionally to have the privilege of representing the West Indies team seems to be the greatest gift to bestow on a young Caribbean cricketer, it should never be at the expense of a highly ranked player who has performed consistently over the years. Case in point: the West Indies’ beloved Dwayne “DJ†Bravo. As far as reasons for exclusions are concerned, best believe that Bravo has heard it all. In 2006, according to CricketNext, he was excluded from receiving a retainer contract from the WICB due to a personal contract that he had with Cable and Wireless, which is a rival entity of Digicel, the company who then served as the sponsor for the senior team. What’s worse is that it is alleged that he wasn’t even formally notified in writing or in person, but rather found out via a WICB-issued press release. In 2014, he finally retired from test cricket, growing tired after four years of sitting on the sidelines of test series after series as a result of repeated exclusions. Other noted Bravo exclusions include omissions from several ODI squads as well as the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in India earlier this year. Frankly, he must be tired of it.
Poor policies
Exclusions are one thing, but replacing the top ranked cricketers who average well over 30 in Twenty20 and ODI cricket with players who, on their best days, cannot even score a decent twenty runs should raise eyebrows right across the board. The inclusion of players such as Andre Fletcher, who averages a measly 14 run, over a much more experienced Chris Gayle, who averages 37 runs on more than one occasion, is highly ridiculous. The West Indies are currently ranked third to last on the International Cricket Council (ICC) world cricket rankings, as well as being ranked a dismal ninth out of twelve teams. The only format of the game that the West Indies have, in recent years, shown promise in its shortest format, the Twenty20,where they are world champions in all areas of T20, including the women’s and the under-19 titles in addition to the senior men’s title. On the ICC world rankings they are ranked fourth. West Indian cricket fans instinctively cringe at the emergence of news of competition against cricketing giants such as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, as missing key players due to questionable exclusions, along with the presence of underperforming rookies and remaining overworked veterans, have all led to the West Indies suffering utterly embarrassing losses, many of them in test series. To add insult to injury, the better players have not been paid nearly as well as they should be for their attempts to avert the danger of coming away from each match with eggs smeared on their faces. Enter Darren Bravo. After being awarded a ‘C’ contract from the WICB, the left-handed batsman went on a Twitter rampage, referring to the WICB president as a “big idiotâ€. What happened after is no surprise to anyone, as he was then dropped from the squad ahead of the Zimbabwe ODI tri-series because of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour. Bravo, a seasoned batsman who has made 95 ODI appearances for the West Indies, having an overall ODI average of 32.03 being offered the lowest paid contract that the WICB awards is an unacceptable slap in the face, even more unacceptable than the comments made by Bravo will ever be. Needless to say, since this impertinent move by the board, the West Indies Cricket Board has been publicly crucified by sports fans and officials.
realsport101.com
