Dr. Desmond Haynes Needs to do a Usain Bolt-Run

Jul 16, 2023 Letters

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Dear Editor,

I have long come to the realization that successful cricketers do not necessarily become good cricket administrators. For a number of years, there had been clamoring near and far for a certain gentleman by the name of Desmond Haynes to be more involved in the administration of West Indies cricket with loud noises calling for him to be the coach among other things.

I myself had held the same view, but in the recesses of my mind, I have always been cognizant of the well-known tendency of Barbadians to openly practice insularity and the possible devastating effects it will have on an already fledging precariously poised West Indies cricket.

I still strongly believe that past West Indian cricketers should be more directly involved in the administration of West Indies cricket and see the current structure with sixteen (16) Directors and a top-heavy secretariat as a ‘Parasitic Bureaucracy” doling out monies to friends who at best could not hold a similar position within the private enterprise.

So, I nervously supported Desmond Haynes’ elevation to the position of Chairman of Selectors of West Indies cricket with the hope (not expectation mind you) that there would be some sense of sanity and normalcy in his team selection and that players would be selected based on performance (primarily) among other things. After all, he benefited from this very policy as a young player.

But no one was prepared for what has unfolded.

This current bunch that he calls the West Indies Test team is an embarrassment. It has always been the practice in the structure of test teams that the best batsman in the team occupies the number 3 position. Raymond Reifer better known for his left-arm seamers with some batting skills has been continuously selected by the goodly Dr. Haynes as the West Indies #3, a position which he is ill-equipped to fill and can only be justified due to his country of birth.

Cornwall and Warrican are proven failures with the former unable to pass a properly administered fitness test, but yet they find themselves in the West Indies team ahead of Permaul who performed well in the Sri Lanka test series as well as in the Regional tournament. And to add to the insult WI were beaten by India by an innings and 141 runs within 3 days. They could only score 280 runs in 2 innings.

And by what logic has Pooran been continuously sidelined from West Indies test selection despite indicating clearly that he was interested in playing test cricket? I suppose that same logic dictates that Hetmyer would not be selected either despite a West Indies-sanctioned “Enquiry” including the mighty Brian Lara concluding that both gentlemen should be part of the West Indies team.

It is clear that there is either a disconnect between the goodly Dr. Haynes and the administration of the West Indies Cricket Board or the “Enquiry” was just a comedy show to appease the angry public of WI embarrassment as being the first-ever T20 World Champions to be eliminated by minnows for the T20 World Cup? Either way, it is an indictment against the team selection and administration of West Indies Cricket.

It is necessary to highlight that the technical capabilities of some of these players are so ridiculously unacceptable that they can elevate your blood pressure to dangerous levels if you are hypertensive. It is a consequence of four (4) decades of mismanagement of West Indies cricket by individuals who should be banned for life from even entering any cricket ground in the West Indies. The recent appointment of a proven failure to the position of “Director of Cricket” is a positive indication that the worst is yet to come and I dare say that the loss of test status is a real possibility and just a question of when.

Four (4) years ago, I had predicted that West Indies cricket will get worse and I have been proven to be correct. I dare say that with the current new WICB administration, it will get progressively worse.

I saw images of the goodly Dr. Haynes smiling broadly while in Zimbabwe where his West Indies – selected team took West Indies cricket to its lowest level ever in the history of West Indies cricket where the two (2) time champions were trashed by Netherlands and Scotland on their way of being embarrassingly kicked out of the 2023 World Cup. His record of embarrassment is enviable and one would have thought that he would have come to reality and adjusted his approach to correct the rubbish. But NO! The goodly Doctor somehow believes that he can do the same thing repeatedly and get a different result, a situation best described as insanity.

There is absolutely no doubt that Dr. Haynes’s team selection has elevated the previous Chief Selectors’ status to the level of excellence if a proper comparison is made, even though they all have proven to be below expectations. I can say clearly, without fear of contradiction that Mr. Clyde Butts stands heads and shoulders, literally and figuratively, above those selectors who were former players and held that position after him.

It appears as though being aloof and obdurate are behavioral traits coveted upon ascending to the throne of Chief Selector and the goodly Dr. Haynes is clearly up to no good. The results so far under his tenure do not do justice to the respect the world has for him as a former great opening batsman and his obvious ridiculous and visionless actions do not do justice to his pedigree as a former player nor his recently bestowed elevation as a doctor.

We expect nothing else but excellence from a doctor and to save his name, face, and West Indies cricket he should do a “Usain Bolt”… RUN and do so with alacrity. The West Indies public deserve better.

Yours truly,

Eric Whaul.

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• administrators, cricketers, Eric Whaul., Usain, years

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