… Elite team performance, women’s cricket, relationship with USA among areas outlined in manifesto

By Clifton Ross

AHEAD of Cricket West Indies (CWI) elections next month, Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) secretary Anand Sanasie has outlined a number of potential plans for the sport, following his announcement of running for the top position.
Sanasie, a long-serving Director at CWI, officially announced that he will be challenging current president Ricky Skerritt.
Chronicle Sport recently contacted the GCB executive, who gave an extensive and detailed description of his plans for West Indies Cricket development across all boards, with heavy emphasis being placed on women’s cricket and youth progression.
“West Indies cricket is not just a sport but it is a pillar of social and psychological fortitude for our region. The passion and energy which our players exude on the field have captivated the world and cemented West Indies Cricket as a global brand and source of enjoyment and inspiration for cricket-loving people everywhere,” says Sanasie.

The Cricket Guyana Inc. (CGI) executive, who has been involved in local cricket for almost two decades, said that it was his love for the sport which further drove him to pursue this newer endeavour.
“It was love and passion which drove me into becoming a servant of the game through cricket administration. I served for over two decades at the community club level, the district and county levels and then for over ten years at the national level in Guyana and as a Director of the West Indies Cricket Board and Cricket West Indies”. He continued, “For the past ten years I have served CWI faithfully and steadfastly without much fanfare or pursuit of publicity or the limelight. I have made my contribution because it is the success of the West Indies team and the strengthening of regional cricket that have been my unwavering focus”.
Sanasie and his colleague Calvin Hope, vice-president of Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), recently did some consultation across the region and outlined a detailed manifesto which they will be unveiling in the coming weeks. Hope will be challenging for the CWI vice-president post.
Nominations for the CWI posts closed on Thursday, February 18 (yesterday); and the elections will be held on March 28.
Among those areas highlighted in the manifesto:
Elite Team Performance:

First we recognise that the performance of the West Indies Team serves as a barometer for the state of West Indies cricket and as the only constant in the regional psyche. Therefore the West Indies Team Performance is one central pillar.
Strengthening Regional Cricket
Secondly, regional cricket is what supplies and fortifies the West Indies Team. The territorial boards manage the production line of elite players for the West Indies teams. We believe that regional cricket requires greater investment from the CWI level and will implement a system of greater (i) sponsorship share and (ii) larger annual subvention to each territorial board.
Revolutionising Grassroots Cricket
Thirdly, regional cricket and ultimately the West Indies Team is only as strong as our grassroots cricket programmes. We believe that there needs to be renewed focus, a revitalisation and a revolution in grassroots and school cricket all across the Caribbean.
Our manifesto will detail our plans for each of these central pillars.
Women’s Cricket Development
Our team will place renewed and heavier emphasis on the development of women’s cricket, focussing on girls’ cricket in the form of training, competition and tournaments, camps and succession planning.

The West Indies Women’s Team must be consistently among the best in the world and we will ensure there is a comprehensive strategic measurable programme in place to achieve this.
Meanwhile, the challenger further believes that West Indies Cricket must also meaningfully and purposefully pursue expansion into the vast and lucrative North American market as a critical plank of augmenting and guaranteeing financial stability.
This requires a planned strategic approach which our Team will pursue with the United States cricket authorities through partnership, collaboration and synergies.
According to this part of their manifestó, the U.S. market is poised for transformative and explosive take-off and as the leading cricket governing body in this hemisphere CWI can both partner with and offer support and guidance to Cricket USA for our mutual benefit.