Latest update November 13th, 2024 1:00 AM
Oct 03, 2024 Sports
By Colin Croft
START
I have been involved in Guyana and West Indies cricket, in some capacity, from firstly being “called to Guyana’s Under-19 Trials” in 1968, aged 15, to now in 2024; 56 years of the good, unbelievably bad and the very ugly. There will be much more of my cricket career, and other things too, with many surprises, I expect, in my next article!
Yes. I have experienced so much in WI cricket, especially in 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, when three quarters (75%) of what transpired in WI cricket was vile, unadulterated crap and shambolic, vindictive, self-serving system and personnel management. WI cricket, especially its off-field management, had been so very poor for so very long!
As the late great Calypsonian Winston Bailey, (“The Shadow”), put it, in his magnificent tune ‘Jump Judges Jump’: “Deh bring people to judge meh, who have degrees in stupidity!”
I can confidently say that, from 1968 to 2024, there has been no “outsider/foreigner”, if one has to call him that, except for Australian Television (Channel 9) Magnate, Kerry Packer, who had done more to enhance WI cricket’s façade, than Mr. Jonathan Mark Grave, aka “Johnny” Grave, outgoing, in October 2024, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cricket West Indies (CWI).
Kerry Packer, between 1976/7 and 1979/80, insisted on absolute WI excellence on the field of play in his World Series Cricket Series, which, even to this day, has never been surpassed by any cricket team in the world, including any subsequent WI cricket teams. Because of the discipline and great expectations inputted by Packer’s “World Series Cricket” tours, WI cricket teams had dominated world cricket from 1979-80 to 1995.
Johnny Grave has been a revelation since joining CWI in 2017; an organizational marvel, an enterprising breath of bright fresh air, always trying his best to be inclusive to all, including us past WI players, and anyone who are still quite concerned about WI cricket. Present and future Presidents and CEOs of WI cricket must take heed!!
Thank you very much, Mr. Johnny Grave, for your efforts, skills and steadfastness, in trying to save WI cricket from eating itself to death, as was being done from the 1990s.
Despite asinine personal blockades, crab-in-a-barrel in-fighting, stupidity, ignorance and arrogance that have been so prevalent with the people who had run WI cricket from the 1990s, sometimes in cohorts with very senior Caribbean political figures, before his tenure started in 2017, Johnny Grave has pulled WI cricket back into the real world of cricket; back from cricket’s dismal abyss, similar to what had engulfed Zimbabwe in the recent past.
I had known Johnny Grave before 2012, when WI toured England, and London’s magnificent Olympics were held. From 2008 to 2017, he had been Commercial Director of United Kingdom Professional Cricketers Association (UK-PCA). Indeed, he even showed astute judgment in selecting me as a “Cricket Ambassador” for 2012’sWI tour. That has continued for me since too, including the recently concluded 2024 WI Tests Tour to the UK. Thankfully, Johnny Grave had brought all of his commercial marketing and business skills to WI cricket, especially after Sandals Resorts International had stopped its sponsorship of WI cricket.
FYI, here is a quick reminder of all Presidents of WICB / CWI (men’s cricket) since its inception in 1928: Sir Harold Austin, Laurie Yearwood, Frederick Grant, Karl Nunes, (and since my birth year 1953), Sir Errol Dos Santos (1953 – 1960), John Dare (1960 – 1966), Thomas Peirce (1966 – 1970), Robert Marley (1970 – 1974), Jeffrey Stollmeyer (1974 – 1981), Allan Rae (1981 – 1988), Sir Clyde Walcott (1988 – 1993), Peter Short (1993 – 1996), Pat Rousseau (1996 – 2001), Sir Wes Hall (2001 – 2003), Teddy Griffith (2003 – 2005), Ken Gordon (2005 – 2007), Julian Hunte (2007 – 2013), Whycliffe (Dave) Cameron (2013 – 2019), Richard (Ricky) Skerritt (2019 – 2023) and Dr. Kishore Shallow (2023 – Present).
I have met all of those except for the first four on that list. Most wasted everyone’s time, with absolutely no ideas or intentions as to how to enhance WI cricket, but just taking the position for self-aggrandizement. Very fortunately, the last two, Mr. Ricky Skerritt and Dr. Kishore Shallow, have tried desperately hard to bring positivity back to WI cricket for the future.
Two past Presidents were very astute businessmen, with tremendous foresight, but were way before their right time for the people on their Boards, to be any success. Three of those named were so incredibly dishonest; absolute bare-faced liars; that whenever I shook their hands, I always looked down to make sure that my right wrist was still intact. Another was really unique; of impeccable pedigree and extremely apolitical; honest to a fault. I even spent much time at the personal home of another of them too, before I had played for WI.
I have documented proof that three of those named above had tried desperately to curtail my cricketing life, by contacting world renowned sporting entities to try to negate my candidacy and involvement. One threatened me directly on my home telephone: “Colin Croft, you will never work in West Indies cricket once I am President.” I have the recordings. He, as vile as ever, is long gone from WI cricket. I am still here and involved. God is Great!
One wonders as to how in hell did Johnny Grave get that CEO position in the first place, given what had transpired in WI cricket in the 2000s. For him to have survived well, to have strived, and to have considerably pushed WI cricket, again, since its dominance from the 1970s to 1990s, to have become, again, more upwardly mobile during his tenure, is a major miracle. West Indies cricket, normally so full of great ingratitude, owes very much to Mr. Johnny Grave.
Continuing from 1994, I have been a well-travelled, (except Bangladesh), Cricket Coach, Sports Journalist, Analyst and Summarizer. For the recent ICC WT20 2024 World Cup, played in the Caribbean and the USA, I was even allowed, and selected, as a “WI Legend / Ambassador”, through the surprising, welcomed influences of Mr. Johnny Grave, Dr. Kishore Shallow and Mr. Shom Shetty of ICC, to carry the ICC WT20 2024 Trophy to the field at Guyana’s National Stadium, for the semi-final featuring India and England. What an honor!
Anyway, if you think that some of those CWI Presidents were incompetent, just take a good gander at the following who had all been CEOs of WICB/CWI before Johnny Grave arrived. Some past CWI CEOs did not even exist to then WI teams’ players, so invisible they were.
Stephen Camacho (1982 – 2000), Gregory Shillingford (2000 – 2002), Roger Brathwaite (2002 – 2007; Bruce Aanensen (2007 – 2007); Donald Peters (2007 – 2009); Ernest Hilaire (2009 – 2012); Michael Muirhead (2012 – 2016). Then came Johnny Grave to save WI cricket in 2017.
While Stephen Camacho actually worked out of the trunk of his car at the start of his tenure, do you even remember most of those CEOs at all? Some of those CEO’s were so lost that they themselves did not know where they were physically or mentally. From “The Shadow” again – “Real Jumbies!” How exactly, being as useless as they were, did some of them get that CEO position, is one of the Caribbean’s major mysteries.
Most of the incompetence in WI cricket manifested itself during the 2000s, including hosting the worst ever held, but not surprising, ICC 50-Overs Cricket World Cup, in 2007. Just check as to whom were the President and CEO of WI cricket during ICC CWC 2007. Most of the region’s upper cricket authorities then knew nothing at all about cricket. They were just in those positions for their own sole indulgences and purposes, whatever those were.
Being as archaic as some past Presidents, at least one of those CEO’s had even contacted several major broadcast entities, and then President of WI Players Association (WIPA) too, with the comment: “We must get Colin Croft off of our radio and television broadcasts. He is much too honest for West Indies cricket.” I still have their e-mails in my G-Mail Cloud storage now. Where do we get such unbelievably disingenuous WI personnel from anyway?
In truth, Johnny Grave, starting his tenure as Chief Executive Officer at CWI in January 2017, literally dragged West Indies cricket up from the parochial, small minded, cockroach mentality that had transpired in the previous 20 or so years, into being a much more collective and inclusive entity, even if still needing more, for world cricket’s consumption.
He has easily outshone most Presidents, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Sports in the Caribbean, most of whom only appear for photographic opportunities anyway, but know very little about what drives sports generally or what is needed by WI cricket specifically.
Johnny Grave has been brilliant for Caribbean cricket. He will be badly missed, even though many of the useless WI cricket non-achievers would not admit that even to themselves!
Thank you so very much Mr. Johnny Grave. As God spares life, we will meet again soon. Good luck in your future endeavors. God’s speed my friend. Cheers!
Nov 13, 2024
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