By Stephan Sookram

LEADERS of the Caribbean should step up their game and do more to fix West Indies cricket, former President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday, as he waded into the ongoing controversy between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the team who won Sunday’s World T20.

“Something needs to be done; something has to be done and the heads need to play a more important role,” Jagdeo told Chronicle Sport at his party’s Freedom House headquarters in Georgetown.
“Cricket does not belong to a single group of people. Forget the legal and corporate structures; cricket belongs to the region and all of us,” added Jagdeo, who like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was born at Unity, Mahaica. Chanderpaul has had his own share of troubles with the WICB.
Jagdeo is the latest in a string of persons who have waded into the state of West Indies cricket after T20 skipper Darren Sammy claimed that the WICB “disrespected” him and the team ahead of and during the tournament in India.
In a speech after Sunday’s historical win, Sammy thanked CARICOM heads for their support during the tournament but lamented the fact that the team had not heard from the WICB.
“That is very disappointing,” Sammy said.
He added: “I don’t know when I’m going to be playing with these guys again because we don’t get selected for one-day cricket. We don’t know when we’re going to be playing T20.”
Jagdeo, now opposition leader, had strong views about West Indies cricket during his presidency. He contended that there must be something wrong for West Indies captain Darren Sammy to vent his concerns on the winners’ podium at the end of the T20 World Cup.
“Obviously for Sammy to say what he did there, I think it reflects a lot of hurt on the part of the players.
“I could see the conflict in his heart and the agony in his face when he spoke of the matter,” said Dr Jagdeo.
The one-time CARICOM chairman added: “I think it reflected that the situation between the board and our players is not optimal. In fact for a very long time, we have had a very huge problem with the management of our cricket.”
In the exclusive interview with this newspaper, Jagdeo cited numerous other former heads of state, including Jamaica’s PJ Patterson, who had cited the problems plaguing the regional sport.
Regarding calls for the dissolution of the WICB, Jagdeo kept bat and pads together in saying, “I don’t have a position at this time,” but recommended that both the heads of CARICOM and the WICB sit with players to flesh the issues out and determine the way forward for the game.
Others who have commented on the controversy include former ODI captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and Test captain Sir Vivan Richards as well as historian and current Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies Sir Hillary Beckles.