Findlay upset by Lloyd interview

The internal bickering and mistrust that is undermining West Indies cricket burst into the open again yesterday.

Chairman of selectors Mike Findlay issued an indignant Press statement saying he was surprised and disappointed at West Indies team manager Clive Lloyds repeated statements to the media that he is not consulted on team selection.

The 550-word release was in response to an interview with Lloyd, carried last week on the CricInfo Interactive Magazine on the Internet, in which the manager was quoted as saying he was very frustrated with the way things are set up and restating his claim that he doesnt have a say in picking any of the teams.

Two weeks ago, the chairman of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) cricket sub-committee, Jackie Hendriks, complained there was a sense of frustration with the way it was being treated and that its purpose was being stifled by the intervention of the executive.

Other committee members echoed his concern.

In the Internet interview, Lloyd said he was especially upset at not being invited to the recent Red Stripe Bowl tournament and claimed the selectors would have to give me a side that I know nothing about.

Findlay yesterday asserted that there has been a process of consultation in place since 1996. This involved both Lloyd and the late coach Malcolm Marshall who, among other things, would make their submissions on the teams to be chosen.

But Findlay acknowledged that it did not take place prior to the selection of the team for the current tour of New Zealand because we were required to select the 16-member team by November 9, 1999, and at that time neither the manager nor the coach had been appointed.

On November 13, when I understood unofficially that Clive and Sir Vivian (Richards) had been appointed ... I indicated to them at the Savannah Hotel, Barbados, where we had gathered for the funeral of the late Malcolm Marshall that arrangements would be made for the committee to meet with them prior to the teams scheduled departure on November 24, Findlay explained.

The meeting did not materalise, he stated, because Hurricane Lenny hit Antigua and forced a week-long closure of the WICBs secretariat in St. Johns. But the selectors did meet with captain Brian Lara in Trinidad on November 22 and asked him to brief Clive and Sir Vivian on our rationale and thinking on the 16-member teams.

I followed this up with a letter to Clive, copying it to Sir Vivian and Brian, he added.

Findlays statement ended: I should point out that the process of consultation has been enshrined in the selection policy which came before the board for endorsement at its ordinary general meeting in Trinidad last weekend.

The policy virtually guarantees a wide, on-going process of consultation and networking between the stakeholders in West Indies cricket, including territorial selectors, the WICBs cricket sub-committee, the director of coaching, The Management of West Indies teams at every level, coaches and the secretariat of the board.

The ultimate aim is to achieve sustained excellence and restore West Indies cricket to world supremacy.