The developing Mexican standoff between the President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Dave Cameron and the chairman of CARICOM’s Cricket Governance Committee, Grenadian Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell is taking an interesting turn. This as the CARICOM cricket review panel has now submitted its report given the terms of its appointment. The panel was appointed by the Prime Ministerial Committee to review the governance and administrative structure of the WICB in the wake of the disaster that engulfed the board after the abandonment of the West Indies tour of India in 2014 and BCCI slapping the WICB with a $41.97 million fine.
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| Dr. Keith Mitchell |
The panel interviewed
various stakeholders including the management of the board, renowned former West Indies players, current players, territorial boards and a host of other key personalities attached to the game in the region. In its report, the panel essentially labelled the current governance structure as antiquated and obsolete and was even more damning of the WICB in the findings it submitted in a fairly sizeable report which listed among is conclusions that the WICB's governance structure had failed to evolve and that it did not prioritize accountability and transparency. The panel suggested that "It is now past the time to accept that the current governance structures are obsolete and that there is an inherent and as yet unresolved tension between the evolution of the game of cricket into a powerful, professionally driven, entertainment and sporting industry and a system of governance predicated on an earlier, more simplified set of requirements. In this regard, the Panel strongly recommends the immediate dissolution of the West Indies Cricket Board and the appointment of an Interim Board whose structure and composition will be radically different from the now proven, obsolete governance framework. These two key measures are absolutely necessary in order to transform and modernize the governance, management, administration and the playing of the game."
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| Dave Cameron |
WICB president Dave Cameron has been all but accused by Dr. Mitchell of avoiding a proposed meeting to discuss the report, a move which most observers can appreciate as the report literally recommends that he and his board be sacked. After all, Cameron now in his second two year stint as president of the WICB can hardly avoid the stain of the regional teams’ ineptness as it continues its pathetically long spiral of insipid performances in the global game. It would be extremely difficult for any reasonable person to disagree that the current boards’ stewardship provides very little (if any) hope for renewal or revival of the regional game at either the local or international level as the current management and operational approaches of the regional game is incongruous with growth and development. After all, the problems in West Indies cricket have remained the same over the last 15-20 years and this Board has been unable to address the issues central to which are: the lack of cricket development throughout the region, poor on-field performance and the deepening of the team’s unfavorable international reputation which must be of tremendous concern at all levels. It is against this background that the panel’s recommendations must be considered, especially its conclusion that it was now “extremely urgent that a modern, transparent and accountable system of governance replace the existing model."
It is notable that the panel has recommended the reviewing of the Australian model as an example of restructuring the game in the region and suggested further, that going forward, new management and members of the WICB should be chosen based on certain criteria and skill-sets and that recruitment should be overseen by a head-hunting firm so that individuals of the "highest caliber" are chosen.
What makes this entire development even more interesting is that CARICOM itself has in its forty plus years not had much of an impact as a regional group and its interest in the regional game has been viewed with the same suspicious lens as has been its stewardship over regional political and economic affairs. CARICOM’s failure to unite the region as an economic grouping has been due in part to the same insularity and territorial one-upmanship that has dogged the region’s cricket and hindered its growth and development for more than three decades. One wonders if the current leadership of the regional grouping has finally begun to come to terms with not only the commercial value of West Indies cricket to the region from a sporting perspective but also its value to the region as a marketing platform for the region's tourism product. No other sporting or cultural event in the region has the advertising and marketing impact that cricket has and the regional leadership has been rather shortsighted in not moving earlier to see to the strengthening of the game at all levels and at the same time secure that value.
It is anyone’s guess as to where this saga will lead or better yet, how it will end as this is the second time in the WICB's recent history that recommendations made for changes in its structure and operations namely the Patterson Report in 2007 were largely ignored. I for one have as much hope for this report as I have for the teams return to success….any time soon.
**** Richard Hugh Blackford is a self-taught artist, writer and social commentator. He shares his time between Coral Springs, Florida and Kingston, Jamaica. See his work at: www.yardabraawd.com
