WI Cricket - Unit Led by Disharmony?

"It takes a mountain of understanding to negotiate through a mine field of disagreements" - Armen Charles Tarjan.

I have always wondered how people with the identical facts could come up with diametrically opposite conclusions; it must be a question of agenda. President Griffith's statement on the cricket impasse is a case in point

Mr. Griffith said that in September 2003 Cable and Wireless (C&W) and WICB reached agreement on a three year sponsorship, subject to contract provisions which subsequently became problematic. Subsequently, WICB received an offer from another prospective sponsor and asked C&W to match it. In response C&W requested the name of the sponsor which WICB refused to supply.

He continued that in May 2004 WICB became aware that some players had signed or were about to sign contracts with C&W. WICB met with the players and advised them of critical negotiations with a competing sponsor. On the same day WICB received official communication from C&W that they had entered into personal contracts with named players.

According to Mr. Griffith, "On 01 August 2004, WICB wrote to the players and requested to see the contracts minus the financial information, the players through WIPA declined to provide the contracts for inspection and they will not be considered for selection until and when those contracts are submitted."

In the wake of those facts the following questions are in order. The team's performance is unquestionably bad. Why then is Digicel fighting so desperately for exclusivity? Is it true that Lara was offered an enhanced personal contract by Digicel?

If the financial demands of WIPA were not published to portray them as mercenary, why were the financial contracts of the top heavy officers of the secretariat and more specifically those of the Australians not published for comparison? Is there a difference between the WICB's refusal to provide C&W with the competing sponsors name and WIPA's refusal to show their C&W contracts?

The following should be instructive, "The current stand-off between the WICB and WIPA over the contracts dispute between Digicel and C&W seem to have caught the WICB between the proverbial rock and hard place and WIPA merely the pawn." Jeff Layne Advocate 28 November 2004

Those of us who take an interest in the administration of West Indies Cricket know full well that even though the extra "C" control has been deleted from the acronym 'WICBC' that they still seem to be dealing in a control mentally." Jeff Layne January 10 2005

"Over the past five or six years the WICB have failed to understand that the players are more than just employees -they are the product itself and to blame them for being mercenary is a very poor position. What the WICB should have done is make sure that all their stakeholders were on board before switching sponsors." Richard Bevan, Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers (FICA) March 8 2005 Nation

"Players are the sports most valuable asset and have to be treated with respect and paid in accordance with the money they generate anything less would be unfair. Players have every right to expect transparency in the revenue which is being generated by them to me the definition of professionalism in cricket is about players payment and nothing else." - Barry Richards, former South African Batsman, 12 May 2004 , Nation.

The West Indies Team is the one entity that has succeeded in unifying the West Indian Diaspora, not withstanding the efforts of the Federation, Caricom, the CSME and the CCJ; hence my empathy with WIPA.

In refusing to accept the decision of the Prime Ministerial decree, that the Cable & Wireless contracts can co-exist with Digicel's, the WICB dropped those players.

Coincidentally, Cable & Wireless who has sponsored the team for almost 20 consecutive years through thick and thin, (and there has been quite a lot of thin lately) is being treated as a pariah. If the above is anything to go by, then obviously Cable & Wireless was back-raised!

Nevertheless, the "supporters" of West Indies Cricket are watching with great interest as those entrusted to manage the one institution that unifies the Caribbean have it lying prostrate in disharmony. One can but only wonder what the WICB's lawyers will find that would be contrary to Judge Saunders.

Jeff Layne - BANGO
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