#360View: West Indies must treat its champion teams with care

Barnaby Read 00:22 04/04/2016
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  • Brilliant on-field success for West Indies has masked off-field disputes.

    For the cricketing islands of the West Indies, it has been a remarkable couple of months on the back of their sides having won the U19 World Cup and adding to that the men’s and women’s World T20 titles.

    It should paint a rosy picture for Caribbean cricket but such is the negligence of its own board that is far from the case.

    Their youngsters that claimed world glory have witnessed their men come into constant battles with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over payments and their players increasingly frustrated by a governing body that has left them feeling undervalued.

    It has created a culture in West Indies cricket in which the players fight for themselves and their country, using their performances on the pitch as the perfect reminder to those that govern the game that they will not be marginalised.

    The same can be said for the women who have roared to T20 success without a distinct infrastructure for the women’s game and largely relying on the progress of other nations to improve.

    Player of the match in Sunday’s final Hayley Matthews showed her gratitude for the Women’s Big Bash League in her post-match interview while captain Stafanie Taylor declined to comment on whether the WICB are lucky to have such success from their teams.

    Taylor may not have said anything on the subject but what is clear is that the WICB is incredibly lucky to have such players at their disposal.

    And while this generation of cricketers has united in spite of its board, it is a toxic relationship that simply cannot continue.

    There is no chance for sustained success if every cricketer from Trinidad or Jamaica comes through knowing that their brilliance will not be rewarded or noticed.

    With every component of their international cricket hitting their straps and delivering on the world stage, now is the time for the WICB to hold their hands up and finally relent in their admonishing approach to its cricketers.

    They have an opportunity to address the problems of its own making and lead a highly talented group of players that Darren Sammy said feel “disrespected” by their board.

    Whether or not that will happen is doubtful but it cannot be argued that it isn’t needed.

    Success breeds success and in these three teams the West Indies have the opportunity to take the game to the next generation of cricketers and breathe new life into a once dominant force.

    West Indies board president Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron spoke this week of the “revival” he is trying to engineer in West Indies cricket and for a body without the riches of the Indian, English or Australian boards it will be a tough task.

    But for all the challenges associated with leading a Caribbean renaissance there must be a strong showing of action by those administrators.

    In recent years this has not been the case but on the back of their world domination the seeds have been planted, they just need the care and attention to grow.

    The joyous celebrations of the two teams at Eden Gardens will go long into the night and for the sake of West Indies cricket they need to ensure that there is no lasting hangover, instead a fresh faced batch of cricketers and officials emerging from a party that the world wants to last for years to come.

    Sammy said post match that discussions will now begin with the board and the case that they submit will be even stronger now.

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