WHILE many have chided Cricket West Indies and its brash new-thinking boss Dave Cameron for the state of West Indies cricket, former fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts has a few words for the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) as well.

According to Sir Andy, the organisation has hindered West Indies cricket as much as anything else.
“You get some hard-nosed (strict) coaches, some of the former players and you get the board out of the way, and also you get WIPA out of the way, because some of the things that the former players would say to these current players, WIPA maybe, would object to some of the things.

“But these guys need to be spoken to hard, because they must realise it is not a bed of roses. It is hard work, it is commitment and you have to make sacrifices in order for you to get to the top and stay at the top,” he said.

Sir Andy seems to be aiming his annoyance at WIPA’s former boss Dinanath Ramnarine and less so at the organisation’s current head Wavell Hinds, under whose leadership there have been improved relationships between players and Cricket West Indies.

“WIPA has always been a problem, especially when (Dinanath) Ramnarine was around because you couldn’t talk too hard to the players, you couldn’t say the players were faking injuries or else they would want to take you to court.

“So these are some of the things that need to be done, some hard decisions must be taken in order for these players to realise that they can’t just come and mock around,” the former player said.

Sir Andy played 47 Tests for the West Indies, snaring 202 wickets at an average of 25.61, while he played 56 One Day Internationals, taking 87 wickets at an average of 20.35.