- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 30/Jul 03:07

Double whitewash: Time for action

THE EDITOR: Following a Caribbean-wide tour of all Caricom member states, the West Indian Commission led by Sridath Ramphal published its report in 1994 under the title "Time For Action." But after many years of talking, Caricom heads of government failed to implement several of the commission’s most important recommendations. Self-interest took priority over community, and inertia was allowed to prevail. Now another regional institution is in dire crisis. On July 28 Australia completed its clean sweep of the T20I series against the West Indies. Together with its comprehensive Test series victory earlier in the month, Australia inflicted a unique double whitewash drubbing on us. That included dismissing us for our lowest ever Test innings score of 27. This then appears to be the nadir of WI cricket. It doesn’t seem that we can sink any lower, but who knows? We have been utterly humiliated in international cricket and are the laughing stock of the sport. But is anyone going to be held responsible? After the third Test debacle in Jamaica, there have been loud calls for the resignation particularly of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dr Kishore Shallow, CEO Miles Bascombe, and head coach and sole selector Daren Sammy. Those calls will probably grow much louder now. But will any of those people heed them? Generally speaking, it isn’t customary for our public figures to accept responsibility when things go awry under their watch. After the Test debacle, Shallow hastily called for a meeting with some of our past cricketing greats including Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Brian Lara. The CWI also hastily agreed to meet with Caricom prime ministers following their published statement of concern about the tragic state of WI cricket. All of a sudden the CWI is keen to meet with all “interested parties." But is it willing to make the substantive structural changes proposed by several reports over many years. One of those was written by Don Wehby who has sadly just passed. Even before Australia completed its double whitewash, many folks saw Wehby’s passing as an appropriate time for the CWI to initiate substantive changes in the governance of cricket. The coincidental concurrence of his death with the double whitewash seems to add greater urgency for immediate action. The long track record of the WICB/CWI in dragging its feet, however, doesn’t inspire confidence that it will act decisively any time soon to make required changes. Just the opposite, it might simply be willing to engage in talking with the greats and with the heads of government to buy more time and continue to stall. That should not be allowed to happen. The time for action is now. Those two groupings must therefore be prepared to apply all the pressure they can muster, not just to seek the resignation of some CWI board members, but to press for the entire CWI to dissolve itself and transfer its legal authority and responsibilities to a new board that would be created by, and be responsible to, Caricom. That’s the only way better governance of WI cricket will occur. The big question though is: do the Caricom heads of government, who have a long and unenviable track record of dithering and not acting with alacrity on their own decisions, have the collective will and unity to take such a strong stance with the CWI in order to protect what they have labelled “a public good?" BRIAN L MOORE via e-mail The post Double whitewash: Time for action appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.