You should resign

by Bryan Davis

Cricketers Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo and Sunil Narine with respect to their non-appearance for the West Indies cricket team, now rebranded as the Windies, were publicly denounced by the president of Cricket West Indies (CWI) ‘Dave’ Cameron.

These true professional cricketers, who announced they were unavailable to play in the qualifiers for the Windies to try and get back into the World Cup finals which take place in the English summer of 2019, to be so vilified, was not expected from anyone holding that position.

Cameron said that his board will probably not invite those players again and the president of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board, Azim Bassarath, a director of the CWI, objected to this stance and quite rightly so. Bassarath stated that Cameron cannot speak on behalf of the board.  This is elementary. Will Bassarath do something about it?

I do not believe that CWI should hold these players to ransom because of their unavailability due to having contracts to play cricket elsewhere. That is their job for they are cricketers!

When is CWI going to understand that one has to negotiate with the modern professional cricketer for he belongs to the world now and no longer the Windies only?

Cricketers are the end product and administrators of the great game must understand that they are here to find, develop and present them with the right environment to make them the best they could be. Therefore, they ought not to be threatening them with being left out of our international teams!

Their position demands that the board have discussions, discover what makes them tick and look for an answer around this dialogue; always being friendly, sympathetic and understanding.

They should not be dismissed and thrown out like rubbish into the wind without at least attempting to come to an agreement, even if it means they can’t play. At least CWI ought to be courteous and civil about it.

These cricketers have been outstanding members of their club and Trinidad and Tobago, loyal to a fault, with an excellent demeanour and are well respected and praised throughout the cricket world, where those who appreciate fine sportsmen seek their interests and contract them over and over again to represent their franchises.

One of the clubs in the Pakistan Super League offered one of these cricketers US$190,000 to be in their team; the Regional Super50 pays the same player US$5,000. The number of games is similar; what choice should the professional cricketer make?

Arrogance and egotism

As Cameron and his Board continue along this road of arrogance and egotism thinking they are greater than the players without making allowances for the super stars enticed by great offers from t20 franchises around the world, what do they expect to happen?

More and more of our top players are going to be lost so as to better enrich themselves with the spoils from other countries. We are going to develop them from infancy without assisting them to play for the Windies!

The professional cricketer is quite right to feather his nest as he has 10 to 15 years of earning power and the majority are not qualified for lucrative posts outside the playing of cricket. He has to do it while he can and Cameron wants to stop them by trying to make them feel guilty with the false notion that they’re choosing cash before country. Let the president of CWI tell me that he wouldn’t make the choice the cricketers make when given the pick of those options!

Which talented sportsman would sacrifice that wealth for a country from which you’re not appreciated enough by the management to even meet with the cricketer to negotiate?

Why should any top-class cricketer, already established, have to participate in the regional series in order to be selected for the Windies? Why can’t they be selected on their known merits once they’re fit?

It’s our country, our culture, our people. Why do we have to bring all these foreigners to coach, manage and direct us; they don’t understand us and are just taking our funds and no improvement is forthcoming. If we have to sink let’s do so with our very own local people!

Cameron does not seem afflicted by any sense of shame and embarrassment by the performance of our cricketers or the poverty of administration of his directors and selectors. Maybe Cameron should ask all to resign and replace them, including himself, with foreigners whom he loves so much!

On top of all this, he brings back that loser Richard Pybus, who wrecked our regional four-day, first-class series by turning it into franchise cricket making it compulsory for every territory to select two cricketers outside of their home base, alienating the local fan that jealously supports his territory.

Not recognising the fact that we are sovereign nations which make us competitive to the point of insularity; but it adds to our interest, excitement and enthusiasm.  Franchise cricket is for t20 – fete match cricket!  Pybus is now back to finish off the Windies like he did Phil Simmons!