Things fell apart

The Cricket Committee of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) which is chaired by vice-president Calvin Hope, will debrief the manager, coach and captain of Barbados Pride, after the Jason Holder-led team placed last at the Regional Super50 tournament in Antigua last month, says BCA president Conde Riley.

“The first thing we got to do is to have a debriefing on it. One thing that I know is that the boys were well prepared. We had our Twenty20 Cup, the Shield Plate, and then we had the Legends Cup, but something fell apart. Once we have that debriefing, which we usually have at the end of every tournament, we will be able to get more information about what really transpired.

“We had a new coaching staff, but I don’t want to speak before we had the debriefing which will take place with the manager, coaches, captain and the physiotherapist. Once we have that debrief, we will be in a position to probably identify what went wrong with the team that a few months ago was beating everybody,” Riley said while speaking at a media conference on Thursday.

When asked if players other than the captain would be included in the debriefing by the Cricket Committee for a broader perspective of what might have taken place during the tournament, Riley explained that even though the meeting was normally held with the captain and the management of the team, other players were sometimes invited to attend.

On the subject of the number of matches Barbados is likely to host this year if the first-class season takes place, Riley said he would have more information after the meeting of Cricket West Indies Venue Committee which was scheduled for yesterday (March 18th).

“We have the conformation of what is scheduled to take place but everything will hinge on what the protocols are at the time. We had been told before at a board meeting of CWI that the first two rounds of the first-class season would be held in Barbados and the next three rounds in Trinidad, this was done to prevent the teams travelling up and down the region. The season was supposed to start right after the Sri Lankan tour ended. I also know we are supposed to host one Test match against South Africa along with three Twenty20 Internationals in June at Kensington Oval. That is pretty well fixed because South Africa have signed off on the tour, but in these uncertain times one never knows what impact COVID will have at any given time,” Riley said.

The president said the BCA was under major financial strain due to the pandemic because their main revenue stream comes from a video lottery, and all of the arcades and shops were closed, “therefore the BCA has no revenue stream at the moment.”

Kensington Oval was upgraded into a world class facility in 2007 for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) 50-over World Cup. Since then, no major refurbishment has taken place at the venue. Late last year Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Marsha Caddle, announced in the House of Assembly that the Government was allocating $800,000 towards the refurbishment of the Oval.

Riley said he didn’t know the quantum of money allocated by the Government for repairs at Kensington, but he was aware that there is going to be an overhaul at the Oval sometime this year.

“What I do know is that KOMI has written the BCA asking us about our thoughts on a number of things that they want to do. KOMI is a management company that looks after the venue but the lease is between Kensington Development Corporation and the BCA. There are certain provisions and prerequisites that have to be followed in accordance to the lease. Therefore, the BCA must be informed on the refurbishing of the Oval,” he said.

Touching on the change of captaincy of the West Indies Test team, Riley said that he didn’t foresee any difficulties between the ousted skipper Jason Holder and new captain Kraigg Brathwaite.

“Jason is the Barbados captain, he was away for the majority of last season and Kraigg captained the team in his absence. Jason was available for the last game against Guyana and he asked that Kraigg be allowed to continue to lead the team even though he played in the match. One thing I can say about the two of them, they have great respect for each other. Jason and Kraigg have been playing together since they were boys, and have a great relationship,” Riley said.

“Cricket could be a lonely game. Two years ago at Kensington Oval, Jason was king, he scored a double century and beat England who were ranked at number one or two on the International Cricket Council’s Test ratings and reclaimed the Wisden Trophy. Two years later, he has been removed as the captain by the powers that be.

“I know he is a strong young man, and has good support around him certainly from the BCA. He will continue to enjoy the game, I think he is rated as the number one Test all-rounder by the ICC again, once he enjoys himself and the game, he will be okay,” Riley added.