Trinidadians Want Lara Reinstated (8 November 1998)

8 November 1998

Trinidadians Want Lara Reinstated

by Haydn Gill

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) should rescind its decision and immediately reinstate Brian Lara and Carl Hooper for the tour of South Africa.

That was the clear message coming over here Friday night at a town meeting in Chaguanas, central Trinidad.

And a few hours before the start of that meeting, a telephone poll by TV 6 showed that 88 per cent of the callers believed the WICB should have a change of heart.

Almost everyone who made an input supported the actions of the players and some even went as far as to say the entire board should resign.

Their comments come in the midst of the impasse between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) that is threatening the tour.

The dispute, which involves several issues including tour fees, resulted in the sacking of Lara, a local hero, and Hooper, who now resides in Trinidad.

Heading the list of those who wanted to see the West Indies captain and vice-captain back at the helm was Minister of Sports Manohar Ramsaran.

"We must have a speedy resolution," he said.

"I want to underline that if the players are found to be indisciplined in any way, I will stand by the board.

"If, however, it is a matter of negotiation, money and other playing conditions, I would hope that the board can rethink their position because wise men change their minds."

Ramsaran, a cricketer in his younger days, said it was important that the best West Indies team be represented in South Africa, a side seen as one of the best in world cricket these days.

"We cannot go to South Africa without Brian Lara. I want to congratulate the team for what they are doing and to let the people in the West Indies know that cricket is that thread that binds us together.

"What I am seeing now is a virtual appeal. If the appeal is strong it should be heard, be understood and the best decision be made quickly for West Indies cricket."

Desmond Baxter, who voiced support for the WICB in the local Press, now holds another view. He was the first to call for the board's resignation and others swiftly joined him.

"My earlier decision was based on the information I had. The information I had was not good enough at that time," Baxter said.

"I am now better poised and I believe that the WICB has created the crisis we are talking about. They have made an extremely harsh decision. If there was going to be disciplinary action, it should not have been that harsh."

The implications and the damage should have been in the minds of board members, Baxter added.

He also supported the move by the other players who are in the corner of Lara and Hooper.

"It is very important that the captain and the vice-captain have come out in such fine qualities and that the players decided to stay with them," he said.

"It is not a question of only money, but a question of principle and laying down policies so that the younger players will now be able to go into the cricket with more professionalism."

Lyle Townsend, chairman of the resurrected Committee in Defence of West Indies Cricket, was very emotional in his contribution.

"The board is dealing with the players like novices and not people whom they ought to respect," he said.

"The approach of the board, despite being wrong, immature and unjust, seems to suggest that there is something deeper within the operation of the board in terms of basic respect for the players."

Townsend, whose committee has been revamped after more than 15 years, said many people were still baffled about the reasons for the disciplinary action.

"It seems to me that the board went out on a limb to get Lara and Hooper because they did not board a plane to go to South Africa when the tour's start was 10 days away," he said.

"If the board had a problem with discipline, then they should have waited until the tour was finished. They were hasty in trying to deal with the issue."

The mayor of Chaguanas made the shortest, but perhaps most objective submission.

"When you make decisions without proper consultation, obviously you are going to end up with lopsided issues and there are going to be problems," he said.

"How can we possibly do that? We have to learn from that. I urge you all not to cast aspersions unless you have the facts."

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)