Dear Editor
MY name is Winston Skerrett and I am an expat living in the United States who is disheartened by the complete mismanagement of West Indies (WI) cricket and the strategic approach taken by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to mitigate the issues facing WI cricket. I am also embarrassed by the performance of WI players, but understand the WI cricket performance is a reflection of the administrative prowess of CWI to manage WI cricket. It is now incumbent upon CWI to maintain the standard of WI cricket by selecting the correct players while constructing a sustainable development cricket plan. The onus is now on CWI to maintain WI cricket as an economic, social and political brand for all West Indians.

WI cricket is a social movement that provides hope and encouragement to expats globally, while serving as reminder at home to young West Indians that anything is possible and they too can dream of one day overcoming obstacles in life. The metamorphic nature and symbolism of a strong WI cricket deconstructs the global myths of the white supremacy doctrine so much prevalent in contemporary world politics.

This symbolism is no different to the pride that comes from a strong Jamaican track team winning gold medals and triumphing over the giants of the Global North by discarded residents of the Global South. WI cricket serves a social movement similar to the sweet sounds of Calypso and Soca music coming from Trinidad & Tobago, reggae music from Jamaica and folk music of Guyana. Embedded in its lyrics are defiant messages urging the marginalised in the ghettos to hold their heads up high to fight the good fight. More importantly, WI cricket serves as an economic engine for the Caribbean by providing a vehicle for which expats and Europeans could enjoy while planning their vacations to the Region.

A strong, respected WI cricket team provides investment opportunities for Foreign Direct Investment by multi-national corporations looking for opportunities in a globalised world. Globalisation has provided economic vehicles through the advancement of technology to advance the development of WI cricket, but CWI has failed to capitalise on these developments. The failure of CWI to capitalise on globalisation is evident in the manner in which administrative decisions are made concerning WI cricket.

Over the years, CWI has mismanaged the WI cricket brand built by Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Weeks Worrell & Walcott, Clive Lloyd, Vivian Richards and Brian Charles Lara. CWI has, with impunity, taken a cavalier approach when making strategic decisions concerning the viability of WI cricket. CWI has failed to understand the conceptual frameworks of economic development, global financial markets and political forecasting to position WI cricket in a position to capitalise on the global shifts which has occurred. WI cricket has fallen low in the pecking order and is now surpassed by countries which were once considered developing nations in the game. The abundance of cricketing talent produced by WI cricket over the years, largely in part by the endogenous strength of players, has now vanished.

CWI has now produced players with monster egos, inflated salaries and demonstrative buffoonish mannerisms. Players who earn more than the average American College Basketball player and European Academy Football player. The current crop of WI cricket players’ performance is a direct reflection of CWI management of WI cricket. Long gone are the days in which the giants of WI cricket provided absolutism to WI cricket. Today’s crop of WI cricket players assume the mantle of lacklustre performances; coaches asleep at the wheel during global broadcast of games; managers mismanaging teams and failing to articulate and execute strategic game plans. WI cricket is now burdened with players capitulating when faced with adversity on the field, thereby betraying their forefathers who paved the way for their existence in a sport once dominated by colonial powers. One can only wait to see what the next 20 years of WI cricket would entail and how long will CWI remain unresponsive to the changing global cricket environment; and when would CW present a development initiative for the future of WI cricket.
Regards,
Winston Ivor Skerrett
Maryland, U.S.A