Three weeks ago, West Indies cricket icon Clive Lloyd joined in the chorus of Caricom countries, saying the time had come to rein in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Lloyd said regional cricket could no longer continue with business as usual and recommended that the WICB president be appointed from each Caricom member-state on a rotation.
In delivering a statement in March on regional cricket at the Inter-Sessional Caricom Heads of Government Meeting in Suriname, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar called for "great change" with respect to West Indies cricket. Also taking a unified stance was Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller who appealed for greater accountability among regional cricketing authorities.
A Trinidad Guardian opinion poll conducted by the ANSA Mc AL Psychological Research Centre, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, between March 9 to 12, 2012 questioned citizens about Caricom's role in the governance of the WICB. A random sample was conducted on 512 respondents by the centre's manager Dr Derek Chadee, a senior lecturer.
The question posed: Should Caricom have a say in the governance of the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board)? Fifty-three per cent of respondents agree that Caricom should have a say in the governance of the WICB, 24 per cent said "no" and 23 per cent did not know. Analysing responses by ethnicity, Afro-Trinidadians were the most likely to state "yes" to Caricom contributing to the governance of the WICB.
Specifically, 60 per cent Afro-Trinidadians, 49 per cent Indo-Trinidadians and 46 per cent Mixed persons said "yes". Indo-Trinidadians (30 per cent) and Mixed persons (27 per cent) were more likely than Afro-Trinidadians (18 per cent) to state "no". Persons stating "don't know" were 27 per cent Mixed, 22 per cent Afro-Trinidadians and 21 per cent Indo-Trinidadians.
With regards to sex, males (59 per cent) were more likely than females (46 per cent) to indicate "yes"- a 13 per cent difference. Persons stating "no" were 26 per cent males and 22 per cent females. "Don't know" was stated by 32 per cent females and 15 per cent males.
Exploring responses by age showed a 21 per cent difference between the 31-40 and 51-plus age group stating that Caricom should have a say in the governance of the WICB. Specifically, 51 per cent of the 18-30, 39 per cent 31-40, 52 per cent 41-50 and 60 per cent 51-plus age group said "yes".
Marginal differences were observed for the response "no" with 26 per cent of the 18-30, 27 per cent 31-40, 28 per cent 41-50 and 24 per cent 51 plus age group giving that response. "Don't know" was stated by 23 per cent of the 18-30, 34 per cent 31-40, 20 per cent 41-50 and 16 per cent 51 plus age group.
Regarding education, technical/vocational educated persons were more likely than primary educated persons to state "yes" to Caricom having a say in the governance of the WICB. Specifically, 65 per cent technical/vocational, 52 per cent secondary, 51 per cent tertiary and 47 per cent primary educated persons said "yes".
Tertiary educated persons were more likely than primary educated persons to state "no". Precisely, 32 per cent tertiary, 25 per cent secondary, 22 per cent technical/vocational and 15 per cent primary educated persons said "no". Persons indicating "don't know" were 38 per cent primary, 23 per cent secondary, 17 per cent tertiary and 13 per cent technical/vocational educated persons.
Manager of the T&T cricket team Omar Khan was in full agreement with Caricom's role in the governance of the WICB. "I think we need to chart a new course...a new direction for West Indies cricket in terms of better systems and structures in place. The West Indies team should be managed as a business entity."
Khan said all other testing playing nations run cricket as a business, with people being held accountable for performance, performance appraisals and systems for players. In doing this, Khan said, West Indies cricket could return to its glorious days.
As far as the WICB is concerned, Khan said Caricom countries could not get involved in the running of affairs of West Indies cricket. Khan said the WICB and Caricom leaders needed to work out the best structures for the benefits of the game. However, this was never done, Khan said, because we never saw it as important, having dominated world cricket.
"We have waited too long for our developmental programmes, financial help and sponsorship arrangements." Stating that West indies cricket has a brand, Khan said, this was not used to its advantage and benefit "in terms of marketing strategies and a business plan."
Khan said he knows that the matter on West Indies cricket was discussed at the recent Caricom meeting among its leaders. "I expect they would have set an action plan and time frame to put things in place." If Caricom comes on board, Khan said he can only hope that its relationships between the West Indies players and its board can build.
"It's much more than going out on the field and playing. We need to impress upon on our players the importance of representing the West Indies. It means players must have appreciation for hard work and the commitment." Dinanath Ramnarine, who recently resigned as president and CEO of the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA), is in full support of Caricom having a say in the control of the WICB.
From a WIPA perspective, Ramnarine said, the association had repeatedly called for Caricom's involvement. Ramnarine, a former West Indies player, said Caricom's was an important body to facilitate change within the West Indies team. "It is difficult for anybody else to do so because you need power to get the WICB to want change."
Ramnarine said Caricom should have a some say in the running of the WICB's affairs, mainly its governance structure, accountability, transparency and decision making process. "There needs to be change. We continue to do the same thing over and over and expect the same results. Everybody wants to hold on to power at all costs. When I make a decision it has to be in the best interest of the organisation. Sometimes you need to give other people an opportunity to perhaps take it at a different level."
In the 20 years West Indies dominated cricket, Ramnarine said the players were groomed under a different structure in England. "They played in a very organised and professional structure which allowed them to develop their game." This came to an end when the English decided to cut the number of professionals they train.
"We never overcome from that. So we moved from number one in the world in 1995 to almost last in a few years. That speaks volumes." West Indies currently rank eight among the ten countries that play international cricket. Ramnarine said despite Australia losing a number of its keys players, they are still ranked the best.
Ramnarine said just recently Australia changed its whole governance structure. Noting that the development of the game was important, Ramnarine said there was need to improve and educate coaches, especially those who train cub players. The development of cricket, Ramnarine added, was almost like "a public relations exercise, rather than substance."
Knowing where we were to what we have been reduced to, Ramnarine said this was disappointing. "While people have been looking at the end product-the players-I look at the root cause of the problem." That problem, Ramnarine said, lies with the poor management of West Indies cricket.
"Therefore it boils down to the poor performance on the field. The mistakes...the amount of legal battles, the test matches being called off because of poor preparation of pitches," he said, were contributing factors to the downfall of the West Indies. Several messages left on Sport Minister Anil Roberts' phone were not returned.
Ratings
Should Caricom have a say in the governance of the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board)?
Yes 53%
No 24%
Don't Know 23%
Ratings
Should Caricom have a say in the governance of the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board)?
Male Female
Yes 59% 46%
No 26% 22%
Don't Know 15% 32%
Ratings
Should Caricom have a say in the governance of the WICB? (by education)
University Tech/Vocational Secondary Primary
Yes 51% 65% 52% 47%
No 32% 22% 25% 15%
Don't Know 17% 13% 23% 38%