THE region’s only two female leaders ganged up on the Antigua-based West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in the midst of its string of apparently never-ending quarrels with players and governments at the opening of a two-day heads of government meeting in Suriname yesterday, saying the time has long come for it to be held accountable for all its actions.
Jamaica’s Portia Simpson-Miller and Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad used a break on opening day of the mid-year summit to fire away at cricket administrators saying they plan to ask colleagues to have a full discussion about the state of regional cricket at the meeting.
“We should hold the organisations relating to cricket accountable,” said the Jamaican Prime Minister, as she and Persad-Bissessar posed together for photographs for the first time as the trade bloc’s only two current women heads of government and as International Women’s Day was being observed here and across the globe.
Standing next to Simpson-Miller, Persad-Bissessar wasted little time in publicly throwing her support behind the Jamaican leader, saying, “I intend to join with you in your call for some transformation certainly to get change with respect to West Indies cricket.”
The two and other leaders appear to be aware of growing concerns in the region about the slow and steady decline of the game in the region, a series of public fights between executives, governments, with the players association and with some of the top Test team performers like Jamaican and West Indies opener Chris Gayle.