… Legends-oriented ‘Cricket First’ advisory group to be pursued

AFTER one year in office Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt and vice-president Dr Kishore Shallow are boasting that they have made significant progress in repairing the severely broken relationships between past CWI leadership and several current and past players. Foremost among the progress was the reconciliation with world-beating coach, Phil Simmons, who was allegedly wrongfully dismissed by CWI.

In their one-year review, the top CWI executives highlighted the following: designing of a new, more open selection policy and the appointment of accountable selectors to operate in a more modern and transparent selection system. “All players must be treated fairly by CWI going forward and mutual respect must prevail.” According to the review, the selection policy inherently protects the work of selectors from outside interference.

The executives said they made a number of courtesy calls on Government Ministers to give reassurance, seek partnership and establish mutual respect and they intend to continue that trend.

A media policy for more openness and better access to CWI leadership by all Caribbean media was established which saw access to the president, vice-president, CEO, director of cricket and other cricket officials such as Roger Harper, Phil Simmons and Ann Browne-John, This resulted in a record number of print, radio and video interviews with Caribbean and international press since the March 24, 2019 CWI election, the review added.

The period also saw extended Colonial Group International sponsorship beyond Super50 Cup to include International ODI Series, the review disclosed.

UTILISATION OF REGIONAL TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Skerritt and Shallow pointed out that they agreed with the view that, over the years, CWI has under-utilised the experiences and knowledge of several past players, especially those who have achieved World Class legendary status. Subject only to the availability of financial resources, and with the cooperation of some key individuals, during the second year in office, they intend to explore the idea of establishing a Legends-oriented ‘Cricket First’ advisory group.

“Such a group will make relevant and insightful recommendations on cricket specific matters, and be engaged for other constructive purposes such as fund-raising, sponsor appearances, and player mentoring. For example, with the use of scarce sponsorship resources, CWI engaged five West Indies ‘Legends’ to do ambassadorial type work in the UK during the 2019 ICC CWC (Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Deryck Murray, and Colin Croft were engaged on these specific assignments).

More specifically, during the past year, the review disclosed an established ‘West Indies First Policy’ which was approved by the CWI Board four months ago in December 2019. “This is the first time ever for such a CWI policy. It established clearly that priority must be given to individuals and businesses of West Indian origin, for the procurement of goods and services and the recruitment of expertise. It also speaks to the need to develop local capacity wherever skills or experience may be in short supply.”

Referring to the promotion of West Indies ‘A’ Team coach Floyd Reifer to the Men’s interim head coach position, the review claimed,  “The experience gained by coach Reifer during the seven months in which he held the interim position has already begun to be of tremendous long-term value to West Indies cricket.”

Experienced international coach and past West Indian player, Phil Simmons, was subsequently appointed as permanent men’s team head coach after being recruited from a competitive field of West Indians-only applicants and has been tasked with systematically preparing the squad up to and including the next ICC ODI CWC in 2023.

The duo also boasted on expanding the use of past players and other qualified West Indian professionals as coaches and team specialists, including Courtney Walsh, Gus Logie and Kenny Benjamin and also utilising the experience of fast-bowling legend Joel Garner and two former captains and batting stars, Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, through short-term consultancies in pre-tour preparation camps.

They also saw the appointment of former West Indian wicketkeeper and former Chairman of Selectors, Michael Findlay, as an Independent CWI director and appointed an Antigua-based accounting and consulting firm (PKF) to carry out a much needed ‘CWI Financial Review’.

A power-point version of this unprecedented Financial Assessment report was presented to the Board, in December 2019, under the co-ordination of PKF senior partner, Wilbur Harrigan. It featured a long list of fundamental, vital and strategic recommendations for change.

During the one-year period, the pair said it strengthened CWI’s long-standing relations with the Government of Antigua & Barbuda, who have been a generous co-host of the headquarters for West Indies cricket for more than two decades. “The CEO and his team have been mandated to reach out to and integrate more closely with local cricket and community. Select Antiguans have also been appointed to various CWI standing committees and have attended several CWI events.

Mention was also made of the appointment of Grace Kennedy Chairman and CEO, Don Wehby, to lead the new CWI Governance Review Task Force, made up of five reputable Caribbean business and professional luminaries, including past legend Deryck Murray.

The Wehby Governance report is due to be presented to CWI before the end of April, 2020. (Frederick Halley)