Sports Commentary - Whither, West Indies Cricket?

By Dale Brown

 

THE MASTER BLASTER. Sir Vivian Richards played an important part in the West Indies’ team’s back-to-back World Cricket Cup championships in 1975 and 1979.

 

NEW YORK, NY. Monday, April 13, 2020 -- Test cricket ranking #8……   ODI ranking #9 …….  Twenty/20 ranking #10 Success is not gained by sudden flight; Failure does not happen overnight…….! 

Like any other sport, cricket results are based on performance. Batsmen make runs. Good batsmen rotate the strike by taking singles, thereby upsetting the opposing bowlers’ rhythm and making it difficult for the opposing captain to set effective fields to contain the scoring. Excellent running between the wickets can also have the same effect when well-judged singles are taken. They also concentrate on building big partnerships throughout the inning.

Bowlers take wickets and generally complement each other’s bowling by operating in tandem and executing a plan geared toward dismissing the batsmen. Good bowlers pressure batsmen with accurate bowling and also by consistently probing the weaknesses of the opposing batsmen.

Fielders, led by the wicketkeeper, help to dismiss the opposing batsmen by accepting catches. They also help the bowlers to build pressure by restricting the scoring opportunities with good ground fielding.

Wicketkeepers actually set the tone for the other fielders.  They should always display enthusiasm and be good observers of the batsmen tendencies so that they can advise the captain and the bowler accordingly.

Poor batting technique, not taking singles, not building partnerships, inconsistent bowling, and substandard fielding have all been features of West Indies cricket.  We have witnessed a steady and at times, rapid decline in the standard of our cricket during the past two decades.

It appears that most of the players lack the discipline and mental awareness to be consistently successful in the longer formats of the game.  Their inconsistent performances can easily be attributed to a lack of the mental stamina needed to deal with the demands of top-class cricket in whatever format.

Playing in England

Many persons are of the opinion that part of the West Indies’ demise is because our players are not playing English county cricket as they did in the ’70s and ’80s.

Playing cricket in England is a job. An arduous job with very few rest days which requires total commitment to the club.

However, playing as a professional in England provided the players with unlimited opportunities to hone their skills. More importantly, it also exposed them to what it means to be a professional.  It starts with their attitude, preparation, training, focus, discipline, commitment, and nutrition.

Being a professional also meant engaging in a more detailed study about the nuances of the game.

Disagreement and Demise

Unfortunately, it was the initial awarding of central contracts by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) now CWI, to the local players which led to the troubling response from senior players who were already contracted to WICB and were also privileged to be signed to lucrative contracts with T20 teams around the world.

CWI reported that prior to the ‘professionalization’ of West Indies regional cricket, the established players were receiving 70 per cent of the money allotted to run West Indies cricket.

Then in 2014, the senior players led by Dwayne Bravo expressed their concern to the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), about the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), with the WICB.

The basic, good faith negotiations with WIPA stipulated that the general revenue would be shared by the wider membership of WIPA. Wider membership meaning the local/regional players who are now professionals.

Additionally, the established players would no longer be entitled to a 25% share of the WICB revenue which is secured from International Cricket Council (ICC) events.

The negotiation with WIPA was finalized but not ratified by members of WIPA who were by now on a tour of India with captain Dwayne Bravo at the helm, who eventually forced an embarrassing withdrawal from the tour by refusing to play after the fourth, One Day International (ODI).

Prior to the withdrawal, the teams were still scheduled to play one ODI, one T20 international and 3 Tests.

Regardless of who is wrong and who is right, it is a matter that the players should not have accepted the offer to tour India “on good faith” and then proceed to withdraw their services while on tour.

The players at least should not have accepted the offer in the first place thereby allowing others to get a chance to establish themselves as international players.                                    

The Issue should no longer be money

Under the retainer system created and implemented by WIBC during the tenure of president Dave Cameron, the regional players would be centrally contracted.

This also resulted in the formation of a revolutionary Professional Cricket League in 2016.

A great part of the reasoning was that the ethos of the young West Indian cricketer ought to be changed. Creating a professional first-class structure in the region was deemed necessary to improve performance.

Currently, there are 90 players across six franchises who have regional retainer contracts which are awarded to players who will participate in the regional tournaments.

The annual contracts range from Category A - US$32,000; Category B - US$24,000; Category C - US$18,000 and Development players -US$12,000.

These figures do not include match fees and other financial gains (incentives).

For example, depending on his seniority and performance level, a player who participates in all 10 first-class matches and in 7 one day matches, stand to earn between US$33,000 and US$53,000 for the season.

The top-performing players can also earn more money by participating in the lucrative Caribbean Premier League (CPL) plus a possible selection for the West Indies ‘A’ team and ultimately the West Indies (Senior) team.

These players are now full-fledged professionals. If we compare their wages with players from England, Australia, India, South Africa and New Zealand, we can say it is minuscule. However, from a Caribbean perspective, it is on par with middle management salaries.

The top tier players who are expected to represent the West Indies internationally, are awarded separate central contract retainers.

For the 2019- 2020 season, 7 players have accepted All Format contracts, 6 players have Red Ball (Test Cricket) contracts and 6 players have accepted White Ball (1-day cricket) contracts.

According to the new system, the Elite players’ contracts will be split into three categories. Category A will feature Test and ODI players with a maximum retainer contract of just over the US $300,000 - Category B will be for Test players only, Category C will cover players who play only ODIs or T20s.

Everyone seems confident that this is a system which will satisfy the senior or established players.

The Way Forward

We do not necessarily expect the West Indies to reach the dizzying heights of the golden period from 1976 – 1995.

All stakeholders must acknowledge the importance of having the best and most experienced players on the team so that they can guide new players through the tough grind of international cricket.

For example, why has Andre Russell only played one solitary Test match in his career?

This was against Sri Lanka in 2010, when he was age 22.

Dwayne Bravo played the last of his 40 Tests against Sri Lanka in 2010, aged 27.

Kieron Pollard at age 33, has never played a Test match!

The last time Pollard represented Trinidad and Tobago in the Regional 4-day tournament was in March 2015, when he was 27 years old.

We simply cannot afford a repeat of this situation.  The selection policy must be clearly established by the administrators (CWI), and they must work in conjunction with the players union, WIPA.                                

Leadership must be more transparent in every sense of the word.

The previous administration led by Dave Cameron had great ideas and implemented good programs but failed miserably to gain the trust of the senior players.

Now the current administration under Mr. Skerritt’s leadership should have learnt invaluable lessons from Mr. Cameron’s errors, including not engaging in public spats with players on social media platforms.

They must endeavor to forge a renewed sense of unity with the players and also with the West Indian people.

CWI must ensure that the Regional players understand that being a Professional does not simply mean getting paid for their services.

The players need to understand that proper training, fitness levels, discipline, focus, knowledge of the game and proper nutrition, are vital parts of being prepared to be a Professional cricketer.

Otherwise they will not consistently perform at a high level. If they don’t, then unfortunately, our beloved West Indies will continue to be a mediocre and inconsistent team, languishing at the bottom of the list of cricket-playing nations.

WORLD BEATERS. Captain Sir Clive Lloyd holds the prized ICC World Championship Cricket trophy at the conclusion of the 1979 tournament at Lord’s Cricket Stadium, England. Sharing the joyous moment are teammates; Gordon Greenidge (right), Derrick Murray (second right), Malcolm Marshall (left), Vivian Richards and Alvin Kallicharan. Behind Lloyd is Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft with young Collis King to the right of the skipper. This would be the second and last time that the regional side would see the winners’ circle at these championships.

-         contributed

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Editor’s note: Dale Brown is sports historian and co-host of the sports talk show SECOND BASE, aired on Tuesdays at 7-8 pm (DST), on the Wee Radio Network at; www.weeradioonline.com