Failed CWI challenge, cricket politics inevitable

Former Barbados and England cricketer Roland Butcher believes that past Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Secretary Anand Sanasie and Barbados Cricket Association Vice-President Calvin Hope had no choice but to withdraw their bid for the top posts of Cricket West Indies (CWI).

During a telephone interview with Barbados TODAY, Butcher said while everyone has a democratic right to challenge, the eventual situation with Sanasie and the GCB made his decision to run impossible.

“At the end of the day, Mr. Sanasie had no choice really but to withdraw himself from the situation. The new board of Guyana obviously would have new presidents, vice-presidents, new representatives, new directives.

So, I don’t think none of those would have been favourable for Mr. Sanasie,” Butcher said.

The GCB elections saw significant changes in the executive with former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan being elected chairman of senior selectors, Bissoondyal Singh becoming the new GCB president, and importantly, Ronald Williams replacing Sanasie as the new board secretary. The elections preceded the rescheduled Cricket West Indies Annual General Meeting.

Butcher also suggested that the CWI election over the years has always been political. Even though Caribbean governments cannot be involved in how the CWI board is run, Butcher said they are both important to each other.

“It has always been political. If you look back over the years, the presidency, the position has been very political.

People say you shouldn’t have politics in cricket but whether we want it or not it is there.

“Politics is in cricket, not politics like in government politics because governments can’t really get involved.

When I say get involved, they can’t really get involved in the running of boards. ICC doesn’t look kindly on that and when it happens ICC suspends that board from the ICC.

“Governments play a very important role particularly in this region where we are not that well-financed. In small nations, the government plays an important role because when it comes to international cricket, the boards, CWI and the territorial boards have to work hand in hand to get international cricket,” Butcher explained.

He added: “For instance, if Barbados wants international cricket, the BCA has to work closely with the government of Barbados to get the various guarantees to enable international cricket to take place in Barbados.

“The spin-off from that is the economic impact in the country. So, you can see the governments and the boards, how important it is for them to work together.

Without the government, the BCA for instance couldn’t run an international series in Barbados.

“And also, without the BCA, the government either. So, the benefit obviously to the BCA is that we bring international cricket to Barbados for her fans, her people and the government.”

“While politically the governments really can’t get involved. They have to get involved with their local boards for the betterment of the country and the sport.

That is vitally important and that is across the Caribbean in Antigua, Jamaica, Trinidad. That’s the only way you can get a win-win situation for cricket and the countries.”

According to Butcher, Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow who retained their posts yesterday for a second term, just basically have to continue the work they have started.

He stressed that they need to get West Indies cricket on a strong footing.

This Butcher said needs to be done on all fronts inclusive of the playing and financial side of things.

“It is going to be difficult because they are interdependent. Without finance, you cannot put the necessary things in place to ensure top-quality performances. You need finance to do that.

“The board needs to be able to get finance to do that. A lot of the finance will also depend on the performance of the team on the field. If you are performing well on the field, then there are more sponsors that are attracted to your brand.

If you are a losing brand it is the opposite. A business will not want to get involved with losers.

“What Mr. Skerrit and his team have to try is to get the balance right on and off the field. I think a lot of work has to get done lobbying ICC. ICC at the moment because of the way they run the cricket with this ICC Future Tours Programme, it is a programme which disenfranchises teams like the West Indies,” he said.

Butcher believes that CWI has to get friends within ICC to lobby for a better share of ICC revenues for them. He noted that the big three – Australia, India and England – walk away with the lion’s share from the Future Tours Programme.

“When you look at the fact that the West Indies is the most expensive place to run cricket out of all the other countries, there is a double-edged sword that is killing you all the time. So, you cannot get out from under that. We need them to lobby and get something [better] from the Future Tours Programme.

“It needs to be where even the touring side, particularly for the side that is disadvantaged, should get a percentage of revenue when they are playing England, Australia, India. That would help CWI to reinvest that money in the territorial boards, into players, science and technology, into the system to produce good cricketers which means West Indies could become a competitive force in world cricket. If that doesn’t happen what is happening now will continue,” said the former England all-rounder.

(morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb)