Restoring Pride to West Indies Cricket is important

Feb 26, 2015 Sports

Says WICB Presidential hopeful Joel Garner

“During the last few years we have been focusing on many other things while neglecting the main business

Joel Garner

of the WICB which is “cricket” and this is the main product that we must concentrate on. The initiatives outlined in this document will not require great financial input but must be managed efficiently and effectively,” says former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner, the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) President and challenger for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Presidency which currently held by Jamaican Dave Cameron.
“We know that there is a Strategic Plan which outlines the WICB programme up to 2017 but these small adjustments can make a great difference to our cricket going forward,” Garner added.
THE VISION
The Territorial Boards are key resources in West Indies Cricket. As such, we must work with these Boards and all our stakeholders, including WIPA and the players, corporate organizations and CARICOM, among others, to create effective partnerships in order to build a strong, unified, accountable and well-governed organization capable of bringing West Indies Cricket, on and off the field, to a position where we are once again a respected force in world cricket.
The WICB will be respected as a high quality cricket playing entity, both men and women, and respected as a business organization, capable of efficient planning and implementation, to keep pace with the dynamism of the modern business environment within the sport.
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Cricket Development and Performance
Some of the Key Issues to be addressed:
1. Over the past ten years the West Indies has languished in the lower half of the Test and ODI rankings.
2. There have been too many below-par performances that have let down the fans and paying customers all over the world.
Priority Actions
1. Place more emphasis on cricket with a definitive plan for moving up steadily in the rankings.
2. Establish definitive standards of performance and conduct as agreed between the WICB and the players.
3. Conduct and implement a full review of cricket at the junior level starting in the territories and moving to international competitions.
4. Work more closely with the territories in formulating policies for developing our young cricketers in order to achieve a revolution of the structure of our junior cricket.
5. Improve and increase communication between the WICB and territorial administrative heads (CEO’s, etc.) to ensure that the WICB and the territories are in sync with each other.
6. Work with the territories to provide more coaching education and training in order to improve the preparation and development of players at the territorial level.
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7. Ensure that players prepare for tournaments in the way they play i.e. net sessions must be supplemented with more practice games and game scenarios.
8. There must be a focus, through the High Performance Centre, on remedial work for our players when technical flaws are discovered.
9. Encourage and expand women’s cricket within the region.
10. Develop and implement suitably structured training for curators, umpires, match referees, scorers and analysts.
Governance
Bearing in mind that the Territorial Boards are the shareholders of West Indies cricket, we have to embrace change and make the WICB more acceptable to the stakeholders. And another Key Issues to be addressed is that of Governance.
Over the past ten years the WICB has been plagued by many debilitating disputes and incidents that have dented finances and hurt our reputation.
1. These incidents can often be avoided and generally better managed by improving our governance framework.
2. The Executive Committee which is a standing committee that is supposed to carry on the business of the WICB has not met this session.
3. We are aware of the public concerns about the structure of the Board and it (the Board structure) will be dealt with by the shareholders.
Priority Actions
1. Reactivate the Executive Committee
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2. The CEO to implement and manage the Board’s policies without the need for an “Executive President”.
3. Allow the WICB to become more accessible to the public and other stakeholders. This will be achieved through the establishment of a consultative committee which must include a representative of CARICOM, a representative of the players, a representative of the UWI, a representative of the CAIC and possibly other eminent persons with a proven track record of strategic and tactical thinking as well as a commitment to Caribbean cricket.
4. Provide the shareholders’ representatives, on a quarterly basis, with information regarding the activities/decisions of the Board in order for them to properly discharge their responsibilities.
Finances
The WICB has never been financially strong and Key Issues to be addressed are:
1. Over the past ten years the WICB has operated largely in deficit.
2. The WICB needs to manage its finances better in order to properly support its programmes, salaries and administration costs going forward.
Priority Actions
1. Develop marketing/sales capability to generate sufficient income to sustain the WICB’s programmes for the foreseeable future.
2. Work with Territorial Boards to create new business opportunities and sustainable corporate relationships within the territories.
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Administration and Management
Key Issues to be addressed:
1. Over the past ten years there have been a number of costly and embarrassing failures with regard to meeting obligations and managing logistics. As a result West Indies cricket is seriously affected by a tarnished image and low creditability issues.
2. The very serious incident ending in the termination of the recent Indian tour.
Priority Actions
1. Have a face to face meeting with the BCCI to sort out the issue of the $42 million, otherwise we would have to wind up the organization.
2. Introduce and implement succession planning to ensure that all management positions, including the CEO, have properly trained and prepared successors within the organization.
3. Ensure that better and earlier planning for all WICB events, tours and programmes is implemented.
4. Put mechanisms in place to ensure that the secretariat executes policies and daily routines with consistently high levels of professionalism.
5. Continue to build on the relationship with the WIPA ensuring that everyone is working towards rebuilding West Indies cricket. WIPA is a stakeholder.
6. Develop management and leadership skills throughout the WICB and its constituent territories, from players to CEO, by providing suitable training and developmental opportunities.