The removal of Denesh Ramdin and Merissa Aguilleira as captains of the West Indies are not accidental but in my view intentional, brought on by a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) laden with animosity and discontent.
The WICB is still holding grudges and grieving from the abandoned tour of India in 2014, which has apparently cost the Board not only a loss of face on the international scene but also embarrassment in the boardroom of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Current president Dave Cameron is a man who thinks highly of himself and would have been extremely hurt by the comments of other ICC Board members over his handling of this situation.
Every Thursday, there is an audio clip of Cameron talking on the Chris Gayle issue. After some tough questions from me, the phone line goes dead and the disconnect tone is heard. I play this before my Isports show on i95.5fm to show the public the kind of man Camereon is and allow them to judge him.
I had the opportunity to listen to some of the interview with the convenor of the selection panel, Clive Lloyd, and to say there were gaping holes is an understatement. Both Simon Crosskill and Lance Whittaker, from what I watched on Sportsmax, tried to get information from Lloyd but he was never succinct enough. There were too many unanswered questions, particularly to the elevation of Jason Holder to captaincy of the West Indies Test team.
When reminded by Croskill that Holder did not excel as One Day captain, Lloyd would only say that we should not judge Holder on the team's performances since they reached the last eight and would have done better if they had certain players. This is where I thought Lloyd was playing the Caribbean people for fools. He could only be talking of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, who he and his selectors dropped. Like many others, not only in T&T but in the Caribbean, there continues to be doubt over Lloyd's thinking. His credibility continues to be eroded day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, which is sad for a man who is considered a legend.
There are questions over the veracity of comments emanating from the WICB, that the decision to remove Ramdin was unanimous via a teleconference, as the president of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCBC), Azim Bassarath, stated that he was not involved in any such discussion. So this added to all that is known of Cameron, is not healthy.
There is also a school of thought that Cameron and his deputy Emmanuel Nanthan, are annoyed that the TTCBC did not support them during the WICB elections earlier this year. If that is indeed the case, this would be further evidence of the mindset of those currently in charge of West Indies cricket.
As it stands, there is too much mistrust between T&T and the WICB, which is probably why Cameron and his team have been reluctant to allow their travelling circus to come here to talk on the state of cricket. The news that on September 25, this team will be in this country, appears only an afterthought after incessant pressure was brought on the WICB. Alas, it will be a non event, as most are already disillusioned.
In all of this, Aguilleira seems to have just been a necessary sacking in light of what is known of her excellent leadership style and record. However to the credit of both Ramdin and Aguilleira, they have both risen above the quagmire and made the correct public statements of support. The fact, that they are both wicketkeepers, should not go unnoticed.
Interestingly, we have not read or heard any fallout in personnel from the errant lack of proper scheduling that has led to the West Indies team missing the Champions Trophy finals in 2017. A mistake of this magnitude, which is not only a loss of revenue, but also a missed opportunity to raise the image of our brand should not have escaped so lightly. But it suggests that in the WICB, there is one rule for officials and one rule for the players.
Time and destiny will define this current West Indies Cricket Board.