Cricket Reform

Jan 04, 2012 Editorial

For years now, local cricketing fans have been experiencing a growing disenchantment with the state of cricket in Guyana. Once a regional powerhouse that provided half of the players on the WI Test team, today we have been reduced to a handful. We have also seen a comparable decline in our participation in the newer and shorter forms of the game. Fingers have been pointed in all directions in the search for the cause of the decay, but gradually those fingers unanimously swivelled in the direction of our cricketing administration.
It was not a coincidence that our cricketing fortunes started to head south as the game became increasingly lucrative. Those that controlled what had up to then been a gentleman’s game dominated by an amateur ethos, began to attract elements that were more interested in the bucks than the balls. The excuse trotted out in other territories and especially at the WICB level that the commercialisation of the game demanded more “executive” types rang hollow in Guyana. Our nouveau cricketing administrators were mostly just crassly commercial.
The salaries, perks and commercial opportunities of cricketing administrators ballooned to a level that rivalled and even surpassed those of the players. Cricket administrators began to believe they were the game. Money for cricket development dwindled to token quantities. As the years rolled by and mediocrity seemed to become our invariable lot, there were persistent attempts at reforms. But these were all stymied through crude bullyism – escalating even into physical attacks – and official governmental and WICB connivance.
That the rot in Guyana’s cricket administration was mirrored at the regional level in the WICB is not surprising. The WICB, after all comprises representatives from the territorial boards, all of which are more or less replicas of the Guyanese syndrome. It should also be of no surprise that the WICB will take the side of the GCB to fight a rearguard action to prevent reform: the WICB is simply the sum of its parts. The WICB has already defeated such attempts to clean up its own miserable failures. The Patterson Report is the latest set of recommendations that have been arrogantly ignored.
It is also not a coincidence that the individual territorial boards have conspired to give effect to the unilateral action of the CEO of the WICB to deny Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan places on the WI team. It is a case of mutual back-scratching. And this brings us to the matter of the administration attempting to bring some semblance of order to our cricketing administration in Guyana through the constitution of an Interim Management Committee (IMC).
Firstly, even if the IMC is to succeed in it efforts, there is absolutely no reason to believe the effect will be permanent, unless the WICB is reformed. It is therefore imperative that the IMC connects its work in a conscious way to the Patterson recommendations on the WICB since this will make the overarching eventual reforms easier to sustain.
Secondly, while we are not enamoured of governmental intervention into the affairs of a sport, like Justice Ian Chang we cannot be unmindful of the gross excesses that are being perpetuated by the GCB on the citizens of the country. The fortuity of it not being a legal entity, allowing the government to become involved in cleaning up this particular Augean stable should be acknowledged even as we insist that the IMC does not exceed its six-month lifespan. We do not want to simply exchange one carbuncle for another.
But it should pass without comment the irony of politicians at the helm of the WICB – Julian Hunte, its chairman for instance is also chairman of the St Lucian Labour Party – complaining about “politicians” getting involved in cricket. Clive Lloyd is an inspired choice to chair the IMC and we expect him to insist on what is best for the game to be the lodestar of the committee. With the publicity surrounding his committee he has the wherewithal to stand down any politician that may harbour intentions to subvert the committee’s work.

Latest News

Cricket Reform

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

St. Lucia’s Elite Blazers takes aim at FIBA 3×3 World Tour in...

Petra/Milo U18 Football kicks off Round II action...

Track and Field clubs demand nullification of AAG...

Joint Statement from WIPA and CWI on Athlete...

RCNA launches Childhood Obesity Prevention...

FL Sport donates stumps to Meten-Meer-Zorg...

Features/Columnists

Following one’s conscience rather than the crowd

If Guyana’s President Ali is the “Zelensky of the Caribbean”, who is the Putin?

New beginning, or beginning of a nightmare?

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Cricket Reform

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 17th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]