An air of mistrust

People in the Caribbean have said, time and again, that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is corrupt. Others have suggested nepotism. And some more talk of abuse of power. While these remain, to this day, unproven rumours, there is no question that the WICB, especially in its dealing with its players, is inefficient and short-sighted.

Disputes have flared up, time and again, over payments, over sponsorships, over contracts. A few years back, the entire first team sat out and watched a second-string team get butchered at home by Bangladesh. Somehow, under the hardworking and honest Darren Sammy, the team seemed to bridge some of that gap with the administration. The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) played a positive role in fire-fighting and making sure the players did not feel shortchanged. Yes, its star batsman, Gayle, sat out for almost a year and a half, murdering only T20 club bowlers around the world. But that was an exception; not the rule.

In this context, the events surrounding the curtailed tour of India are bizarre. The players claim that a certain payment issue was not discussed with WIPA office-bearers, although the WIPA claims it was. The players have lost trust in their own association, and the board, cunning as ever, has said it will only negotiate with the WIPA. This is like school kids arguing about who lost the ball.

In the mid-90s, when the West Indian team began its free-fall, the board should have realized that the only way to keep promising cricketers -- their most valuable asset -- in the game was to treat them well. On many occasions, the board failed on this front. It promised too little and didn't deliver on even those promises. The players felt deceived, their performance suffered. Worse, the board operated mysteriously and opaquely. Jerome Taylor is a classic case in point. For years, he had been claiming that he was fit. The board never picked him, claiming, dubiously, that he wasn't.

The issue that rankled players the most, though, was the low salaries. The stars of the earlier generation made their money mostly playing abroad -- many of them made England their second home. However, by the mid-90s, there weren't so many of those contracts anymore. Playing domestic cricket in the West Indies was never a profitable plan. This, cyclically, led to a decline in the quality of cricket in the Caribbean.

In the last five years or so, there's been money flowing into the coffers of the West Indian cricketers again through T20 leagues all over the world. Coincidentally (or consequently), the West Indies team seems to be stronger than it has been in the last fifteen years. Shouldn't the players complain less about pay now? Shouldn't they play as much top-flight cricket as they can and not pull out of tours?

The present issue deals with a reduction in player salaries to the senior team in favour of contracts for an additional 90 first-class cricketers. It is, at least on the surface, a noble move. The issue, however, is not on the merits of this move. The players claim this was never discussed with them by the WIPA. Shouldn't the WIPA, a players association, inspire confidence in the players? Shouldn't it keep them informed of every decision it takes?

From the days of George Headley, the West Indies brand of cricket revolved around individual brilliance. Of course, in the 70s and the 80s, Clive Lloyd and his immediate successors managed to unearth, nurture and feature a galaxy of stars in one line-up. Each one could turn the match in a matter of a session or two. The present side has at least seven such players -- Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, the Bravos, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and Sunil Narine. This is a side that could give any team a run for its money at the World Cup.

The least the WIPA can do is actually be a players association and represent the cricketers. The least the board can do is listen to the players and not ride on technicalities. The least the players could do is be open for discussion. An air of mistrust and off-field distractions will only ruin the cricket, and boy, when on song, don't these guys play some cracking cricket?