West Indies cricket will “cease to exist as an entity” if the best players in the region represent it only on an “optional” basis while featuring in all T20 leagues. This was one of the conclusions drawn by the review group that Cricket West Indies recently appointed to probe West Indies’ failure to get past the first round of the 2022 men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
The two-time T20 World Cup winners, led by Nicholas Pooran, started with a loss to Scotland and beat Zimbabwe before a defeat to Ireland led them to crash out of the tournament. Pooran subsequently stepped down as white-ball captain, just after CWI instituted the review committee comprising Patrick Thompson Jr (chair), former West Indies captain Brian Lara, and Mickey Arthur, who has been head coach with South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and is currently at Derbyshire.
The terms of reference for the review group was to “identify, investigate, and analyse the factors contributing to the poor performance” before reporting the findings to CWI, which made them public on Thursday. “The early retirement of the West India Men’s Team (the ‘WI Team’) from the Men’s ICC-T20 World Cup (‘World Cup’) resembles a disaster of sorts, if not a fatal outcome.
Poulin’s side had little experience playing top-light cricket in Australia and were criticized for being “underprepared” for the World Cup in the Caribbean Premier shortly after his league failed to escape his panel of ratings. , the fact that the West Indies player ended up in Australia. “The World Cup match was played in Hobart, Tasmania, in the wet and cold, but had more in common with conditions in the north of England than in the West Indies. had little impact on
This was the second consecutive poor performance by the West Indies at the T20 World Cup, following their failure in the 2021 edition staged in the UAE. Kieron Pollard, who retired last April, led the West Indies in that tournament. Pollard recently called West Indies’ withdrawal from his 2022 World Cup a “sad day”, but he said he wouldn’t blame the players.
“NoCs cannot be armed against players”
However, the review group highlighted the fact that the West Indies have not assembled the best team available.Sunil Narine has been a consistent winner and striker in tournaments such as the IPL, but here For several years, I did not qualify for the West Indies selection. Regarded as one of his best all-rounders in T20 cricket, Andre Russell failed to qualify for the World Cup in Australia. The review group noted that Simron Hetmayer’s absence from Australia was “a huge loss for the attacking force”.
However, all of these players are making big money participating in his T20 franchise leagues around the world. The review said it was “completely understandable” for players to “maximize earnings”, but warned that this could not be done “at the expense of West Indies cricket”.
“It is not in West Indies cricket’s best interests to have its best players play in all global leagues and voluntarily play for WI teams,” the review read. To do so, it is imperative that the board and players have open and honest discussions with each other.According to this group, there is significant mistrust between the players and the administration, and this mistrust Detrimental to ensuring that the top 11 players in the game play on the WI team.
“A non-objection certificate cannot be armed against a player, but it is important that a compromise be struck, otherwise West Indies cricket may cease to exist as an entity. This Group does not indulge in doomsday predictions but no entity, sporting or otherwise, has a viable future if its talent is not harnessed and effectively managed.”
Three-day retreat to address “grouses”
The review pointed out that West Indies had a “golden opportunity to hit the reset button” ahead of the next T20 World Cup, which the West Indies and the USA will co-host in 2024. A key part of that process would be to roll out a strategic plan, and the review group has put in place short-term, medium-term and long-term goals to facilitate such a plan.
One of the short-term recommendations is for the CWI’s director of cricket and the selectors to shortlist 30-35 players who will form the pool from which the “nucleus of 15” for the World Cup can be picked. But to ensure all the best players make themselves available for selection, the review group wants CWI to host a three-day “retreat”.
“That meeting should be akin to a strategic retreat where players and administration can speak frankly and address any and all grouses (real or imagined) in a constructive manner. Mediator(s) should be secured for this meeting in order to assist and facilitate the discussions contemplated above. The Head Coach, CEO, Director of Cricket, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, WIPA representative, the President and two directors (nominated by the other directors) should be in attendance together with the players.
“A performance consultant who can assist the players and management to define West Indies cricket culture, identity and values is essential to this process. It is important that this meeting is convened in a round table format as opposed to management on a raised platform and players on a lower level.”
Finally, as part of the short-term strategic goal, the review group wants the shortlisted pool of players to feature in “as much red ball cricket for WI as possible”, as that would provide “vital opportunities for primarily white ball players to develop their overall cricketing skills” against better-quality Test teams, which in turn would automatically enhance their preparation for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
As per the ICC’s Future Tours Program, West Indies are scheduled to play Test series against Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, Australia and Pakistan between now and the next T20 World Cup. The review group found that some white players, including Pullan, Evin Lewis, Akeel Hossain, Odeen Smith, Shimron Hetmayer, Shai Hope, Brandon King and Robman Powell, were at least tested against Australia and Pakistan. We encourage you to play cricket.
“Following this group deliberation, we strongly believe that Redball and Test cricket, in particular, offer significant opportunities for whiteball players to develop their full cricket skills against Test teams ranked above us.
“As an inevitable consequence of strategic withdrawal, all parties must clearly determine what is meant by selectability. In this group’s considered view, selectors Even if not mandated, all formats should always be encouraged to select the best 11-13 players for a WI team, and once selected be made available within an agreed period of time. It’s up to the player to decide whether or not.”