Sir Viv slams ‘lousy’ WICB

In the last few years, a number of high profile Caribbean players declined central contracts from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), leaving them under no compulsion to appear for national duty. One of the diktats of the WICB that has irked the players is being asked to play the Regional Super50 in order to qualify for selection for ODI squad. Considering the aforesaid players all feature in domestic T20 leagues like the Big Bash, which clash with the Super50, they have refused to sign the binding WICB contract.

Richards insisted that the situation has come to pass only because members of the WICB have done a “lousy job” in creating an environment where players feel treasured by the national set-up. “When you have an arrogant administrative unit, guys are going to pick and choose,” Richards told ESP Ncricinfo in Mumbai yesterday. “We must remember that many of the players come from humble backgrounds. I have no qualms in saying this, some of these administrators think they are as important as the players on the field. They are not. It is all about the attraction of the environment that the players on the field would have created for them to be in an administrative position.

“I think it is a bigger issue than about the guys playing in our domestic competition. Most of the guys played there when they first started out, that’s what they wanted to do. But when you get an administration who thinks that they are the most important entity where West Indies cricket is concerned, they better wake up. The players have done their bit in terms of their representation. We lost a series in the UAE recently [in 2016 against Pakistan], now we have lost the T20 series in West Indies to Pakistan.

All this after winning the last World T20. That sends a message in my opinion that all is not well with all the players who are representing West Indies at this stage.” (ESPNcricinfo