Lloyd charts WI cricket revival

As the new year begins, West Indian Cricket supporters and the region as a whole must be thinking what we can do to restore our team to the heights it once knew and rekindle the pride and dignity in the unifying unit which the West Indies Cricket Team represents. I therefore thought it would be a good thing if I can set down some ideas as to how this can be achieved. The best place to begin is with the issue of the governance of cricket in the region. The administration of the game must be made more accountable and transparent to the West Indian people who after all are the stakeholders. I believe that the governance of cricket in the region can be improved if those who aspire to its highest seat of authority, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), should submit a curriculum vitae explaining what they have done for cricket in the region so far, what they intend to do to improve the quality of administration and the playing of the game, and what programmes and plans they are intent on considering to restore cricket to the dignity of one of a premier institutions of the region.

If officials of the board are elected on this basis it would not only lend greater transparency to the governance of the game but would also make it clear to the West Indian public what direction the board is likely to take to improve the quality of the game in the region. Transparency can also be improved by making the Annual Reports and Financial Statements available in each territory. The Caribbean Community has been actively involved in promoting West Indies cricket for some time now. I do vividly recall that in the 1980s the leaders of the region made proposals to encourage our top players to remain in the region. This is not the place or the time for criticisms or recrimination in this regard. Suffice it to say that our leaders wanted to do what they could to improve cricket. Since that time the Community has considered the state of cricket on more than one occasion and made recommendations for its advancement. The Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket has considered various aspects of the game at the highest level. The simple point I am seeking to make is that the Community has built up a body of knowledge which could be placed at the service of the Board.

I am therefore inclined to recommend that an officer of the Caricom Community should be on the WICB and have a say in the conduct of its activities. This representative would not have a vote. The point to understand here is that the Caricom representative would link the WICB to the governments of the region thus realising the goal of making the latter a permanent feature in the work and activities of the former. The board would therefore avoid the less than ideal situation of approaching the governments of the region only when there are difficulties or a crisis threatening the regional game. It would be the best thing also if two female representatives are appointed to the board. Such a development would enhance the public profile of the WICB and also recognise the increasing importance of women’s cricket on a global scale.

These representatives must be female cricketers of substance and the best qualified so that they can play a positive role in improving cricket at different levels. One representative can be from the Caribbean Women’s Cricket Federation while the other can be a female who has a knowledge and understanding of the game. It is time that we examine some of the conditions under which representatives of the Board serve. Let us begin with the presidency itself. Modern studies of men and institutions have demonstrated that no one can be effective beyond a certain period of time. The human mind cannot absorb an unlimited amount of information or cope with a continuous rush of events. They have therefore recommended a finite period of service. This should apply to the presidency of the WIBC. A President of the WICB, in my judgment, can only be effective if he is limited to two terms.

Equally, members of the Board should not serve beyond the age of 70 years. The Cricket Committee is an important arm of the Board and warrants some attention. It would seem a good proposal therefore, given its pivotal role, for there to be at all times five cricketers of established reputation on it. These five cricketers must be subject to the same considerations as the selectors and submit their CVs to the board so that a determination can be made as to whether they qualify for positions on the Cricket Committee. They must also submit along with their CVs what particular plans and programmes they envisage as being relevant to the progress and development of cricket in the region. The committee itself should be vibrant, strong and forceful.

It must be in a position to drive the activities of the board, especially as they relate to the identification of players who perform at the highest level and be a credit to the West Indies. The committee must play a part in ensuring that our cricketers are professional, focused and not prey to the inconsistencies, which have been the bane of West Indies Cricket in recent times. If necessary, the constitution should be suitably amended to make the work of the Cricket Committee an integral part of the work programme of the WICB. The committee above all else must be able to make sensible cricket decisions which can lead to the returning of the WI cricket team to the higher if not highest levels of international cricket and in the process afford the region a product which can be attractive to sponsors. With the need to seek an urgent improvement in the administration and playing of cricket, it would be timely for the WICB not only to establish a professional league but must work closely with such countries as Bermuda, Canada and the United States.

The desirable objective here is to involve these countries in our domestic competition and bring them up to, say, One-Day Internationals (ODI) standards so that touring teams can engage in matches against them before playing the rest of the traditional Caribbean teams. The gain here would be that players who the board would not have otherwise seen will be exposed for scrutiny. The involvement of these three countries must be carefully planned and must be done on a sustained and programmatic basis. A true professional league involving Bermuda, Canada and the United States will open up possibilities not only for lucrative sponsorship but also for greater scope for the number of games which can be played during any regional tournament. An important feature of the league in question should be that players in any one country should be able to represent another, once the player identified has met criteria laid down by the Board for such transfers.

Anyone remotely familiar with the history of West Indies cricket would know that inadequate finances has been the bane of the existence of the WICB. It therefore must be a priority for this board and succeeding boards to put in place the mechanisms and the systems to ensure that cricket in the region is adequately financed at all material times. This can be done by forging a relationship with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), a representative of which can be seconded to the WICB. The bank can and will be in a position to offer advice and guidance on such questions as investment and the means by which funding could be accessed and sourced. Lastly, on the question of finance revenues from the forthcoming World Cup should be utilised to ensure that the long-term plans for the cricket in the region is underwritten by an adequate financial system.

In this regard, I would argue that Mr Allen Stanford’s demonstrated commitment to West Indies cricket and his financial expertise must qualify him for a relationship with the WICB either in the form of co-option or a position which can make him effective in enhancing the financial system and finances of the Board. In Part Two, I will examine the role of the WICB in the administration of cricket at the territorial level and the need for a fulltime academy to help prepare future cricketers. (Clive Lloyd played in 110 Test matches for the West Indies between 1966 and 1984. He captained the regional side in 74 Tests and is widely regarded as one of the most successful leaders in international cricket history.) SPORTS EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part editorial by the former West Indies captain on the future of cricket in the Caribbean region. (CaribbeanCricket.com)