Cricket stakeholders, particularly fans in the region, have welcomed the news recently publicized: that a formal resolution between players and Cricket West Indies Inc (CWI) is closer in relation to the strict selection criteria which had to be satisfied before players were considered to participate in the limited format of the game.
It has been reported in the media that significant progress has been made in relation to negotiations between players and the board a few days ago, after an amnesty was proposed by WIPA, the players’ union. Now that a resolution is imminent, top players such as Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle could soon be available for selection to participate in the limited-overs section of the tour to England, which starts in a few weeks.
It has also been reported that CWI has cleared Darren Bravo to play in all formats of cricket, after the batsman had apologised to the board and its president, Dave Cameron, over a Twitter outburst.
Currently, West Indies selectors follow a stringent policy of considering only those players who participate in the domestic 50-Over competition – a policy that goes back to 2010. This criterion had ruled out a number of senior players, including Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. It could be recalled that none of these players was part of West Indies’ most recent series against Pakistan, which they lost 2-1, falling further behind in their race to be among the top eight teams in the ICC rankings, in order to qualify directly to participate in the 2019 World Cup.
Both Jimmy Adams, Director of Cricket, and Johnny Grave, CWI CEO, have previously expressed their desire to change the policy, with Adams labelling it “unsustainable”. Several other stakeholders, including Chairman of the Caricom Cricket Governance Sub-Committee, Dr Keith Mitchell, had said there are serious issues to be resolved regarding the future make-up of the West Indies Test and One-Day International teams. Dr Mitchell, who is also the Prime Minister of Grenada, had advocated for a review of the current selection criteria.
Most of the players mentioned earlier have, over the years, opted to play for international T20 franchises, for which they are paid huge sums. However, now that CWI has shown an inclination to relax the rule, the selection panel will have a wider pool of players from which to choose representation on the team. One may even want to predict that this would result in better performances of the team, since the West Indies will be fielding a more experienced and competitive team for all formats of the game.
It is anticipated that the hardline stance taken by the board would be formally relaxed when the new round of central contracts is introduced in October, with a new range of white-ball contracts also adding to the players’ security and flexibility. Certainly, this is an indication that the management of West Indies Cricket is taking a more accommodating approach with respect to the administration of the game; which would only result in better relations between players, the board, and the players’ association.
Gayle, who marked his international return after 15 months during the one-off Twenty20 International against India in Kingston last week, was quoted by ESPNCricinfo as saying that “things have been steadily improving”, and playing for the 2019 World Cup, for which West Indies may have to qualify, is still a burning desire.
With the side having slipped to 9th in the ODI rankings (they are 8th in the Test rankings and 5th in T20), it is almost impossible for them to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup ahead of the ODI rankings’ qualification cut-off date in September.
Many believe that the availability of some of the top players, who had in the past proven themselves to be a force to reckon with, is a significant step in the right direction. This is encouraging news for West Indies Cricket stakeholders and fans, as they have become very frustrated over the constant spats between players and the administrators of the game, which no doubt have had a tremendous negative impact on the team’s performances.
