Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 05, 2013 Sports
Colin E. H. Croft
Two events marred last week, one about West Indies team, the other was about its past players!
Firstly, West Indies Cricket Board confirmed what I had previously mentioned; that the only Tests that West Indies would play in 2013 would be against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
West Indies thrashed Zimbabwe last March.
According to reports from WICB’s meeting in Trinidad & Tobago, regular Test players, those who do not normally participate in T-20’s or ODI’s, must wait to December next, to play internationally again!
News came that Pakistan will tentatively tour West Indies in July-August, but only for ODI’s and T-20’s, due to scheduling grid-lock.
That is unfortunate.
It means that West Indies, while trying to improve its position in International Cricket Council’s Test standings from No. 7, of nine countries, will have played only four Tests in 2013. Two were against Zimbabwe, a team not yet in the rankings, having not played enough Test cricket in the last year, and two will be v New Zealand, who are at No. 8.
How is West Indies to improve its position?
What happens to regular Test players like Windward Islands Shane Shillingford, Leeward Islands Kieran Powell, Trinidad & Tobago’s Shannon Gabriel or Barbados’ Tino Best?
West Indies present international cricketers fall into three, maybe four categories. Some, like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Shillingford, play Test cricket almost exclusively.
Several, like Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, play all formats, while players like Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith almost exclusively play T-20’s, maybe ODI’s. Others, like Denesh Ramdin and Chanderpaul, play County Cricket in England etc., or Champions League, for respective countries.
But what is a player like Powell, who only plays Tests, occasionally ODI’s, to do for that duration after ICC’s Champion Trophy in England in June?
Granted, it is a real tight rope for WICB, balancing international cricket, especially with lucrative T-20’s dominating world cricket. Like everyone else, West Indies must cash in too! Nothing wrong with that!
I expect that upcoming Caribbean Premier League will, even from its inception in August, become as much a part of international schedules as Australia’s “Big Bash.” However, as noted recently, Australia still manages to meet that balance well, making sure that outings in Tests, ODI’s and T-20’s, international and domestic, are sufficiently dispersed so that players get chances to fully produce in each relative format! The second concern has been in the worry chambers even before I played Test cricket in 1976/7.
How, exactly, are past, present and eventually former, West Indies cricketers to be treated, once their professional cricketing careers are over and they move into “real life”?
Last week’s head-line in Jamaica’s Observer newspapers was eye-opening, even embarrassing: “Jamaica Cricket Association apologizes to Courtney Walsh!”
Former West Indies captain “Cuddy’ Walsh, a Sporting Ambassador too, was stopped, by security, from entering certain parts of Sabina Park, where his name is blazoned on one of its pavilions.
The security person was not wrong. The guy or girl was only doing his or her job, as directed; to stop anyone at all who did not have proper accreditation from entering specific enclosures.
I blame West Indies Players Association and West Indies Cricket Board directly. Secondarily, I blame Jamaica’s Cricket Association and all other Caribbean Cricket Boards too.
Either they are lazy or do not care! Or is it about ultimate power and control?
Many might think this is funny; even that it is no big thing. I disagree. This has soured communications of our cricket and our cricketers for ages!
No ex-West Indies player has suffered more stresses and abuse than I have had around the Caribbean as regards going into cricket grounds, even as I always have the correct accreditation. Who knows, maybe I am hated most, for whatever reasons!
Bourda, New Garden Street, for a past New Zealand tour, even as I was 50 meters away, the security guard, in full uniform, screamed: “Kraff, if yuh ent gat a f…..g pass, yuh ent passin’ hey!”
Sir Gary Sobers was denied admittance to the stand at Barbados’ Kensington Oval which has his name.
I was in the company of another Knight, my own hero, Sir Everton Weeks, also at Kensington Oval, when we both completed media duties, when Sir Everton was asked for accreditation.
He had none, and was refused entry, even though the security person knew who he was: “Sir Everton, I kno’ who yuh is, but if yuh don’t ha’ a pass, you can’t come in hay!” I cried that day!
We are “Heroes?” Yeah, right! Most do not know stresses that former West Indies players get to attend games. Some have to beg.
Only about 400 played for West Indies. Not even 10 percent will attend at any one time. This could be alleviated.
We are always treated better when we travel around the cricket world! All that WIPA, WICB and respective cricket boards have to do is to have a master list of past players, issue each with a yearly pass, if needed, also providing positions to be seated. Simple! But, common sense is not always common! Enjoy!
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