It would not be an exaggeration to say that the withdrawal of the West Indian Cricket team from the tour of India, which should have been taking place now, is one of the most significant tragedies to have befallen cricket in its 86-year history.At the same time the opportunity has been presented to save West Indian cricket from its eventual demise by the removal of the present governance structure in the form of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its replacement by the new structure as recommended by the Patterson Report since October 2007.
It is not the purpose of this article to apportion blame by percentages since all of the major actors, ie the WICB, WIPA and the players must all share the blame. Instead it is to remind the West Indian cricketing public that this tragedy has been in the works for at least two decades or more. What has happened in the last few weeks is the culmination of multiple missteps by a dysfunctional WICB, which under its present structure is unlikely ever to be able to act in the best interests of West Indian cricket.
The focus of this article is on the WICB. The players are not to be exempted from adverse comment, but that is for another occasion. We have to face the harsh reality that West Indian cricket as we know it is unlikely to be the same again, and has been undoubtedly in a mode of irreversible decline for almost 20 years. A reminder is necessary, because in these islands we have the infinite capacity to deny the truth and to live in a state of almost permanent denial of harsh reality. Hence we should not fool ourselves into believing that the announced solution emanating from the meetings at the Hyatt Hotel in Port-of-Spain on October 31, 2014 will solve the problem. I have been an avid follower of West Indian cricket for over 60 years. I was similarly angry at the decline which set in after 1995 and sought to write about it in a series of articles between 1995 and 2000 which were published in the local press.
One takes no pleasure in being a prophet of doom and gloom but we must face up to the harsh reality of the present position. It should be pointed out that the writing has been on the wall for some years now. Yet nothing has been done to rectify the position.It is the writer's fear that unless a serious plan of corrective action is formulated and implemented over the next few years, there is a grave risk that West Indian cricket can go into irreversible decline.
Throughout the last 20 years of the continuing decline in the fortunes of West Indian cricket the WICB, owner of West Indian cricket brand, has borne the primary responsibility for arresting and reversing the trend. The fact of the matter is that that trend has not been reversed and the decline continues. It is not difficult to understand why the WICB has been engaged in so many multiple missteps, and seems unable to chart a clearly communicated course to reverse the decline of West Indian cricket and seek to improve its lot. This explanation in my opinion clearly resides in the present governance structure of the WICB. The main elements of that structure which make the Board accountable to no one and devoid of any incentive to communicate and implement a plan are as follows:
(i) The WICB is a private limited liability company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands under the International Business Companies legislation.
(ii) The legal owners of the company are the six territorial boards, ie Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, T&T, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands. They are supposed to be the shareholders who own the company. The directors are primarily comprised of two representatives from each one of the territorial boards referred to above. In addition, the President and the Vice President of the WICB are elected by the directors appointed by the territorial boards.
(iii) No person can become a member of the WICB unless the existing members (who are the territorial boards) approve of that person's admission. In essence the WICB is an exclusive private club to which membership is restricted. Its controllers are accountable to no one but themselves. It is devoid of the governance structure of a modern corporation.
In a situation where there is an absence of accountability there are certain consequences which are likely to follow having regard to human nature. It means that the Board can act or not act with impunity. It means that personal and business agendas can be advanced and pursued with your colleagues turning a blind eye because their time will come to do so. This is fertile ground for conflicts of interest to prosper and thrive. That is the reality of the corporate world.
The reality is that the WICB as the owner of the West Indian cricket brand is in a broad sense of that term a trustee of that brand for a multiplicity of stakeholders, the most important being the cricket loving public including myself. It is therefore wholly unacceptable that this situation should be allowed to persist and prevail. The following excerpts of the Patterson Report are instructive in this regard: 16.1 Fundamental change is necessary...
The way our cricket is governed does not reflect the wide range of stakeholders' interest involved. It fails to meet the requirements and obligations of what is in effect a modern corporation operating in the global arena. Change must therefore be effected urgently. The status quo is not an option.
16.1.2 A fundamental change in exercising all the fiduciary and legal obligations, which attach to running a corporation beholden to shareholders must accompany a change in structure. Quite apart from efficient and effective administration, West Indies cricket demands foresight, accountability and consistency. The success of West Indies cricket must prevail over any competing consideration. It should always be the supreme interest."
16.2.3 The Territorial Boards are the legal shareholders but they do not constitute the major stakeholders which are Governments, the Caribbean private sector, regional Institutions, past and present players and the media. The public provides the real customer base. West Indies cricket is not the preserve of the WICB. The people of the West Indies own substantial rights.
16.2.4 The present composition of the Board is unwieldy, reflecting the dominance of territorial representatives who regard themselves as delegates rather than directors of an independent board, where their duty of care and loyalty is owed to the WICB and the WICB alone. This opens the door to the danger of insularity and possible conflicts of interest.
What has happened to the Patterson Report?
Notwithstanding the passage of seven years, the fundamental change which the Patterson Report said was urgently required has not taken place. The fact of the matter is that the WICB, if it were to act in accordance with the new governance structure being advocated by the Patterson Report, would be engaging in its own extinction. It would cease to exist in its present structure and all its directors would no longer hold the positions which they currently enjoy. It is not realistic to expect that directors of a company which is accountable to no one would willingly relinquish their positions and give up their entitlements.
The West Indian cricket public is likely to wait for a new century before this happens. In my opinion the only way for a new governance structure to come into place is if there is an external event which leads to the dissolution of the present structure. That is where the present claim of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) comes into play. However surgical or cynical it may sound, it may be that the new governance structure for West Indian cricket would emerge if the BCCI were to pursue and seek enforcement of its monetary claim for compensation in the sum of US$42 million for the WICB's cancellation of the recent cricket tour to India. If such claim were to be pursued and upheld, then it would mean the end of the WICB under its present structure simply because all indications are that it would be unable to pay its debt and would have to go into insolvent liquidation. If that process does take place, a caretaker regime under the supervision of the ICC can be put in place to administer West Indian cricket before the new governance infrastructure advocated by the Patterson Report has been created and established.
It is too early to say whether the foregoing will transpire. However in years to come it may be that we will acknowledge that the BCCI by pursuing its claim has done West Indian cricket a favour and saved it from its total demise.
Claude H Denbow SC
Port-of-Spain