West Indies Cricket… Jamaica, it is time to go it Alone!

“What do they know of cricket who only cricket know” [C.L.R James; Beyond A Boundary]

     West Indies cricket begun inauspiciously in 1898 when an assemblage of players were drawn from the “Big Four” territories Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad to play matches against a Marylebone County Club (MCC) team led by Slade Lucas. The mixed successes of the “West Indian” colonists over the visitors served as a foundation for the development of a joint colonial team and by 1907/8 this team had begun tours of the mother country England. By 1928, the team had so progressed in the sport that the sport’s governing body officially recognized the group of players, designating them with Test Cricket status joining England, Australia, and South Africa as the world’s fourth Test playing nation.
The team served different purposes for different groups as it represented a triumph for British Colonial powers as part of their socializing of the colonists and providing the planter/merchant class with a contact point with British society in the period 1928- late 1940s. Equally, the sport provided Black West Indians with an outlet for demonstrating to the aforementioned group their growing assimilation in the socio-cultural setting of the period. By the 1950s Caribbean societies had begun to come into their own and taking their cues from the political developments that came with the end of the Second World War begun to clamour for their own political independence. This development would not be without consequences.

     The independence movement was pitted against an alternate proposal for the creation of a West Indian Federation which was favoured by Britain as well as some members of the political leadership within the territories. Independence eventually won out, and with it, individual socio-political identity. This identity sowed the seeds of “Insularity” among the islands, and as the team’s success grew so did the clamour for representation among its ranks by individual islands. West Indies cricket saw huge successes between 1976 and 1989 with the team under Clive Hubert Lloyd’s leadership conquering all comers. The success continued under the Antiguan Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, even as the significance of the teams’ continuous victory streak became more symbolic socially and less so from a geo/socio-political identity perspective.

     Broader island representation opened the team to a larger talent-pool and at the same time broadened the participation of usually outlying territories to representation on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) which governs the sport in the region. In the old days the WICB’s membership was centered around the “Big Four” territories. This element changed considerably over the period 1989-1994 as did the political landscape of the Caribbean region. Regionalism which became the rallying cry after 1974 was replaced by the Individualism and unfortunately this spilled over in the region’s game and its current governance. Current voting structures within the WICB supported by the benefits of individual relationships have shifted the power base of the game away from Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago. Equally, millions of regional dollars have been spent to raise up facilities in islands which has populations that are marginally greater than the seating capacities of these facilities. In these circumstances self interest is what is now being served. Keep in mind too that Caricom heads have no power over the structure of the game in the region and the ICC’s position against government involvement provides the active ingredient to maintain this state of affairs. The case of the forced resignation of Clive Lloyd from the WICB  over his role with the Guyana cricket’s Interin Management Committee (IMC) is a clear example of how entrenched this situation is.

     Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller's recent call for a speedy resolution in the impasse between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board has spurred not only the interest of Jamaicans, but also its previously spineless and out of touch Jamaica Cricket Association. However, Prime Minister Simpson-Miller’s call that Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket” is not new.  Guyana’s President Bharrat Jhagdeo speaking in Basseterre, St Kitts in July 2011 had called on Caricom governments to focus their attention to the call from embattled West Indies opener Chris Gayle and intervene in the impasse between him and the West Indies Cricket Board. Nothing happened, and my sense is that Simpson-Miller’s cry apart from receiving the disrespectful response will elicit nothing else.

     West Indian society has moved into the 21^st century where “Individualism” is the dominant culture. Cricket culture is no different and while we try to cling to disappearing alliances, the opportunities present in the modern game is eluding the West Indian community as a whole. Jamaica has demonstrated its ability to produce winning teams and significant participants in the sport from George Headley in the 1930s to Christopher Gayle in 2012. We need to embrace the change that is in front of us and applaud the current WICB executives for providing us with a much needed “Wake-up Call”

George (Atlas) Headley -Richard Hugh Blackford (c) 2008.

Visit my website at: http://www.richardhblackford.com/ for a wide selection of original paintings and prints.

West Indies Cricket… Is It Now Time To Go It Alone?

          Over the last couple of weeks West Indies Cricket has occupied local as well as international sporting headlines despite the regional side not having a team on the field of play. In the first instance there was the demand from Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller that a resolution in the impasse between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board be found quickly. Speaking at the Jamaica Cricket Association awards, Prime Minister Simpson-Miller said that Gayle was being treated unjustly and deserved a place in the West Indies team. "Justice delayed (according to Prime Minister Simpson-Miller) is justice denied and we demand that a resolution be found as quickly as possible as Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket.” Prime Minister Simpson-Miller’s position is not dissimilar to that expressed by Guyana’s President Bharrat Jhagdeo in Basseterre, St Kitts in July 2011 when he called on Caricom governments to focus their attention to the call from embattled West Indies opener Chris Gayle and intervene in the impasse between him and the West Indies Cricket Board.

       Less than two weeks before Mrs. Simpson–Miller’s comments there was the story of iconic former captain Clive Hubert Lloyd’s resignation as non-member director of the WICB, after being forced to take sides between the board and the Interim Management Committee (IMC) appointed by the Guyana government to run cricket in the country. Lloyd was appointed by the Guyana government following the disputed July 2011 Guyana Cricket Board elections to head the IMC which it established after locking the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) out of its office premises following the elections. The IMC is not recognized by the WICB, which as a result issued Lloyd an ultimatum asking him to choose between the two parties. Lloyd, obviously gutted by the ultimatum alluded to not only his role and status in the global cricket community but also as a former Test player and captain. Accordingly Lloyd stated [“I would have hoped that my decision to answer my country's [Guyana's] call would have signaled a message to you that all was not well with Guyana's cricket and therefore had your support and cooperation. However instead I have found myself caught between my loyalty to my country and loyalty to the WICB. After much deliberation, with a sad heart I had no other option but to tender my resignation as director of the board. I hope that my resignation would act as a catalyst for the members of the board to ask soul searching questions and take a hard look at what could be done differently to get our cricket back to the glory days." ]

Lloyd's letter also touched upon his concerns about the health of the game, in Guyana and in the Caribbean at large. "As one of the most successful West Indian captains in the history of our game, I have to say that I am very concerned not just about the state of cricket in my country but the state of West Indian cricket as a whole - the lack of accountability and consultation and limited discussion about the stagnant state of our cricket."

       The ultimatum issued by the WICB to Lloyd is consistent with the public position of the ICC for non-government involvement in the sport. However, this position taken by the ICC is to my thinking, completely “out of step” with the realities of regional cricket specifically and with world cricket in general.

I will place on record my own view that Gayle’s utterances were not only unfortunate but inconsistent with expectations of one who is the West Indies captain and does not have my support. However, the current modus operandi of the WICB serves as a tolling of the bells of West Indies cricket which as we knew it is now perpetually “Dead.” The spectre of insularity which has always plagued the region’s game since our beginnings in 1928 when the game was represented by the big four; Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago prevents the island from working together meaningfully. In addition, it is clear that currently, the region’s Board and Management seem more concerned about their own tenure and the obvious benefits that may accrue from this than they are about serious development of the region’s game. Equally, this insularity has seeped onto the players and in an era where the game’s lucre is being driven by abridgement and television revenues it is no longer business as usual. Gone are the days when the game meant as much to the players as they provided a fillip to fans in the Diaspora through the demonstrated examples of their sporting prowess. Today, money talks and everything else walks. Player’s loyalties are to their pockets. Thus the ongoing imbroglio between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association will only produce one result; one in which the game in the region is the loser.
Maybe, just maybe.... it is time for Jamaica and the other teams to apply for individual Test status and go it alone.

                                      George (Atlas) Headley Richard Hugh Blackford (c) 2008
Check out my website at: http://www.richardhblackford.com/ for a broader selection of great oil paintings and prints.

West Indies Cricket… Is It Now Time To Go It Alone?

         Over the last couple of weeks West Indies Cricket has occupied local as well as international sporting headlines despite the regional side not having a team on the field of play. In the first instance there was the demand from Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller that a resolution in the impasse between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board be found quickly. Speaking at the Jamaica Cricket Association awards, Prime Minister Simpson-Miller said that Gayle was being treated unjustly and deserved a place in the West Indies team. "Justice delayed (according to Prime Minister Simpson-Miller) is justice denied and we demand that a resolution be found as quickly as possible as Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket.” Prime Minister Simpson-Miller’s position is not dissimilar to that expressed by Guyana’s President Bharrat Jhagdeo in Basseterre, St Kitts in July 2011 when he called on Caricom governments to focus their attention to the call from embattled West Indies opener Chris Gayle and intervene in the impasse between him and the West Indies Cricket Board.

       Less than two weeks before Mrs. Simpson–Miller’s comments there was the story of iconic former captain Clive Hubert Lloyd’s resignation as non-member director of the WICB, after being forced to take sides between the board and the Interim Management Committee (IMC) appointed by the Guyana government to run cricket in the country. Lloyd was appointed by the Guyana government following the disputed July 2011 Guyana Cricket Board elections to head the IMC which it established after locking the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) out of its office premises following the elections. The IMC is not recognized by the WICB, which as a result issued Lloyd an ultimatum asking him to choose between the two parties. Lloyd, obviously gutted by the ultimatum alluded to not only his role and status in the global cricket community but also as a former Test player and captain. Accordingly Lloyd stated [“I would have hoped that my decision to answer my country's [Guyana's] call would have signaled a message to you that all was not well with Guyana's cricket and therefore had your support and cooperation. However instead I have found myself caught between my loyalty to my country and loyalty to the WICB. After much deliberation, with a sad heart I had no other option but to tender my resignation as director of the board. I hope that my resignation would act as a catalyst for the members of the board to ask soul searching questions and take a hard look at what could be done differently to get our cricket back to the glory days." ]

Lloyd's letter also touched upon his concerns about the health of the game, in Guyana and in the Caribbean at large. "As one of the most successful West Indian captains in the history of our game, I have to say that I am very concerned not just about the state of cricket in my country but the state of West Indian cricket as a whole - the lack of accountability and consultation and limited discussion about the stagnant state of our cricket."

       The ultimatum issued by the WICB to Lloyd is consistent with the public position of the ICC for non-government involvement in the sport. However, this position taken by the ICC is to my thinking, completely “out of step” with the realities of regional cricket specifically and with world cricket in general.

I will place on record my own view that Gayle’s utterances were not only unfortunate but inconsistent with expectations of one who is the West Indies captain and does not have my support. However, the current modus operandi of the WICB serves as a tolling of the bells of West Indies cricket which as we knew it is now perpetually “Dead.” The spectre of insularity which has always plagued the region’s game since our beginnings in 1928 when the game was represented by the big four; Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago prevents the island from working together meaningfully. In addition, it is clear that currently, the region’s Board and Management seem more concerned about their own tenure and the obvious benefits that may accrue from this than they are about serious development of the region’s game. Equally, this insularity has seeped onto the players and in an era where the game’s lucre is being driven by abridgement and television revenues it is no longer business as usual. Gone are the days when the game meant as much to the players as they provided a fillip to fans in the Diaspora through the demonstrated examples of their sporting prowess. Today, money talks and everything else walks. Player’s loyalties are to their pockets. Thus the ongoing imbroglio between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association will only produce one result; one in which the game in the region is the loser.
Maybe, just maybe.... it is time for Jamaica and the other teams to apply for individual Test status and go it alone.

See more of my paintings at: http://www.richardhblackford.com/