CARICOM Regional Cricket Conference a “Swipe and Miss” in Tackling Key Systemic Issues

Apr 30, 2024 Sports

By Dr. Dawn-Marie Armstrong

“As a little boy/girl…”, the opening sentiments shared by three of the Caribbean’s leaders and CWI’s President may have tugged at the heartstring of attendees prompting them to reflect fondly, but professionally, I am still left with a lack of direction for West Indies cricket. This letter comes after my first two published in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, respectively, focused specifically on the lack of compensation for local cricket players across the region.“As a little boy/girl…”, the opening sentiments shared by three of the Caribbean’s leaders and CWI’s President may have tugged at the heartstring of attendees prompting them to reflect fondly, but professionally, I am still left with a lack of direction for West Indies cricket. This letter comes after my first two published in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, respectively, focused specifically on the lack of compensation for local cricket players across the region.

The conference, in hoping to “reinvigorate West Indies cricket”, was described by PM Rowley as “a symposium for strategic collaboration and innovation”, but the constant echo of “insularity” on the first day left me wondering if we will ever be either “collaborative” or “innovative”. PM Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago referred to the event as a “unique” gathering while Andy Roberts, in his spirited presentation, stated that the event itself was “30 years too late”. This being a shame, since the lack of organisation for what I thought was a crucial panel discussion at the end, felt as if adequate planning had not been considered.

However, amidst all the diplomacy and hat-tipping, Michael Holding stole the show and brought to the forefront the pertinent issues facing the sport. These were and still are: poor governance and lack of respect for players! However, in seeking to convince attendees of CWI’s fervent position, the presentation by the organisation’s Business Development Manager was found to be lacking.

While harping on about his ideas of a “long run” in articulating the 2024-2027 Strategic Development Plan, I left wanting to hear more about short-term solutions as these problems have existed for decades. The “Whispering Death” mentioned CWI taking a fight to the ICC and securing more funding for the continued development of the game and I stand in agreement because advocacy is what the organisation needs. CWI needs active and engaging leadership who understand the importance of social justice, but most importantly, who can see how injustice has impacted our region and how those injustices further permeate the sport and foster a lack of consideration for the players who should be at the heart of our game.

Holding continued by offering the most ideal suggestion, He outlined how Caribbean heads of Government should develop legislation to oversee management of CWI. I would even go further to suggest that administration of the organisation be absorbed under CARICOM in the hopes of having a more coherent, collective course.

Additionally, with respect to funding, the conference would have been better received if Governments would have made an immediate pledge to invest and provide our game with the facelift it needs. In speaking about being a “trustee” of West Indies cricket, PM Mottley of Barbados highlighted transnationalism for our professionals and pursuing prospects beyond our shores, but what about creating these opportunities at home in the Caribbean? Have any of the leaders of CARICOM given serious thought to sportspersons finally being paid their worth? Economic analysis to detail the viability and sustainability of this option is beyond my expertise, but surely the collective genius that was on display would see this as a “no-brainer”.

Recently the UK Government invested GBP£35,000,000 into grassroots cricket in England and Wales, how much are the Governments in the West Indies willing to invest to take us out of the state of shame that we are in. All leaders spoke about the “brand” of West Indies cricket, but I had a difficulty understanding what exactly defines that brand.

President Ali of Guyana seemed to be the most ambitious and probed to invoke thought while also highlighting the “lack of protest” on CWI’s part; he believed that the organisation had failed to speak out against major changes in rules that has affected the dynamic nature in which we play. May I remind readers that these issues are of special interest to me as an academic and practitioner since I am a proud Caribbean woman from the only Black nation to have dominated the sport. My heart aches for West Indies cricket, yet I firmly believe that our reputation must still carry some weight in the international fraternity and our players are still valued enough.

To conclude, the conference was a mediocre “think tank” with no immediate solutions to the region’s problems. In my previous letter, I encouraged the leaders of the organisation [CWI] to “seriously introspect and consider whether their motives and the organisation’s vision are coherent and constructive”. After this display, I must say, that sadly, they are not. What I saw at the conference were “egos on show”. I share these views on Day 1 because I believe it set the tone for the proceedings, and after viewing the entire 4 hours of footage and undertaking an in-depth content analysis, I did not believe that Day 2 was worth the watch.

In fact, I believe that Day 2 should have been utilised to have those key conversations with players; past and present, regional and local, to understand their expectations and to bridge the divides that presently exist between administration and its most important stakeholders.

We need to return to the culture of our cricket: the culture of overcoming – doing a lot with the little we have while thinking outside the box to achieve the impossible.

Holding referred to the CWI Board as “incompetent”, and until more thought can be given to all players across the region, I must say that I share the same sentiment. We can no longer try to tackle these issues from the top-down, a change in perspective is needed. Bottom-up, oddly enough, may be the way forward.

Note: This letter is the third of a series creating discourse around the psychological determinants of development, motivation and performance in West Indies Cricket leading up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that is set to be jointly hosted with the USA this June. Dawn-Marie Armstrong is a Research and Teaching Fellow at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom and is also the Founder and Principal Psychologist of Afro Sport Psych™. The latter is a psychological enterprise and registered trademark of practice that focuses specifically on intervention for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) athletes in sport. Any correspondence can be sent to [email protected].

Editor’s note: This was sent as a letter but has been carried as an opinion piece.

CARICOM, Dr. Dawn-Marie Armstrong, lack, President, West Indies cricket

Latest News