WIPA confirm changes made to Cricket West Indies players’ contract

By Brandon Corlette

Wayne Lewis, Secretary of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), has confirmed that changes have been made to the criteria of Cricket West Indies (CWI) international retainer contracts.
The changes will see injured players being protected, and players who dominate without meeting the evaluation period would be offered a contract.
Back in May, CWI announced the list of international retainer contracts for the 2021-2022 season, which saw a total of 18 players contracted, a decrease of 4 from last year. Former Test captain Jason Holder is the only player to retain his all-format contract.
The list of contracted players has been a hot topic, and certain territories have expressed disappointment at CWI after players did not earn an international retainer contract. Lewis has said that players who dominate within a certain period but fail to play the amount of games that were previously used for evaluation will now be considered for an international retainer.
“For you to be considered (for contract), you have to score a certain amount of runs, you have to have a particular strike-rate and average; and, similar to a bowler, but usually you have to play ex amount of games to qualify.”
“We are now saying that if a youngster comes on the scene and scores a lot of runs and take a lot of wickets, but when the time comes he has not made it in terms of amount of games, we still offer him a contract. We will no longer evaluate a player because he did not play enough games,” Lewis said on the recent Mason and Gust programme in Barbados.
Additionally, players who have injuries will be protected. “We will protect a player who have injury and is not able to play the minimum amount of games for evaluation,” Lewis explained.
Earlier in May, CWI Vice-President Dr. Kishore Shallow indicated that the regional board would explore how it can tweak the current criteria used to select players for international retainer contracts after CWI received widespread criticism following the announcement of contracts.
The Guyana Cricket Board, of which Lead Selector Roger Harper is a technocrat member, also made significant noise when they questioned the criteria, after no Guyanese male cricketer was offered a contract for this period.
The criteria used for awarding contracts for the 2021-2022 season indicated that players must participate in at least 50% of the matches, which is then tied to statistical factors regarding performance average and fitness.
According to Lead Selector Roger Harper, a batsman is required to average a minimum of 30 in Tests or One-Day Internationals, or have a Batsman Average and Strike Rate combined (BASR) of 150 in Twenty20 Internationals.
From a bowling perspective, they would need a minimum average of 45 in Tests and ODIs, and a similar BASAR combination is used to reach the criteria in T20I. The evaluation period for the 2021-22 contracts covered performances and statistics from April 1, 2020 to April 1, 2021 (this was also supported by statistics from the previous 2019-2020 evaluation period).
WEST INDIES MEN’S INTERNATIONAL RETAINER CONTRACTS 2021-2022
All-Format Contracts: Jason Holder.
Red Ball Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner*, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva*, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Mayers* and Kemar Roach.
White Ball Contracts: Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein*, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Nicholas Pooran and Hayden Walsh Jr.
*Players offered contracts for the first time in 2021-2022
Players who are no longer receiving international retainer contracts are:
All Format Contracts: Roston Chase.
Red Ball Contracts: Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich.
White Ball Contracts: Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.