Riley’s 25-year ride on BCA Board

Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) president Conde Riley has reached a significant landmark, serving as a member of the Board of Management for 25 years.

A retired investment banker, who also played the game as a batsman for Combermere School and the now defunct Barclays Sports Club in BCA competitions, Riley talks about his journey on the Board including helping to set up the Everton Weekes Centre of Excellence at Kensington Oval and implementing contracts for both men’s and women’s cricketers.

As it relates to the BCA’s financial status, Riley says: “Our financial statements reflect that we have been in a reasonably healthy state executing our programmes although we are owed millions by a number of entities, namely Kensington Development Corporation and Cricket West Indies.”

HOLDER: You have served as a member of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Board of Management for 25 years. Can you give us the genesis?        

RILEY: I joined the BCA as an ordinary member in 1980. I was encouraged to join by two Barclays Bank staff colleagues, Lincoln Waterman and Oneal Payne, who were members of the BCA. My application for membership was approved and that’s where it all started.

In 1996 former BCA president Cammie Smith, who was married to my cousin Phyllis Riley, and Basil Matthews who was then the executive secretary suggested that I should offer myself to serve on the Board of Management as a number of members were not standing for re-election.   

Except for 2013 to 2014, I have been a member of the BCA Board of Management from 1996.

HOLDER: What would you list as major achievements?

RILEY: In 2007 president Joel Garner asked me to chair the Cricket Development Committee and with the help of my committee, we set about establishing an academy for the BCA. We received significant assistance from Tony Howard and Bennett King, who were the Barbados manager and the West Indies Cricket Board (now Cricket West Indies) coach at that time. King was instrumental in setting up the Sydney academy in Australia and shared valuable information with the committee.

We relied on significant research contained in the Shorey report and presentations by the late Lindsay Holder and Winston Best of the accounting firm Skeete Best.

I wrote the paper and the budget for the setting up of the academy, which the late Sir Everton Weekes graciously consented to have his name associated with the initiative. The opening of the Everton Weekes Centre of Excellence in 2008 coincided with the 60th anniversary of his world record five consecutive Test centuries, set in 1948/49. The paper was presented at the April 2008 monthly Board meeting and was duly approved.

In 2010, the Board agreed to professionalise our senior cricketers by contracting 15 young men and later five young ladies in the first instance because at that time we felt that amateurs would never consistently beat professionals.

At that time, we had received a substantial payment and it was in the bank earning a very modest rate. I suggested that we invested a portion of those funds in a Government of Barbados 8¼% Treasury Notes, which was on tap at that time. It was a secure investment and allowed us to contract the players and that has been in place ever since.

Since becoming a member of the Board I have served on every committee of the Board and chaired most of them at some time or other.

I became vice-president in 2007 to president Joel Garner and served in that position for ten years until 2017 when Joel was appointed as manager of the West Indies men’s team and did not seek re-election. I was elected President in 2017 until the present.

In 1998, I became a director of the West Indies Cricket Board. So next year will be 25 years as a Director of Cricket West Indies.

HOLDER: What are some of the challenges you have encountered from a BCA perspective?

RILEY: One of the challenges we had was when the Instant Money Game wound up in 1997 and we had to secure a similar revenue stream.

I was asked by then president Tony Marshall in a letter dated September 28, 1998, to chair a lotteries committee. The other members were Mrs. Pat Greenidge, Owen Estwick, Keith Simmons and the late Oliver Brome. We managed to find a service provider and were given permission to sign off an agreement with the Leeward Islands Lottery.

We signed an agreement with the Leeward Islands Lottery on the 21st May, 1999 and the Board appointed Keith Simmons, Joel Garner and myself to sign the contract which allowed us to be on the same footing as the Barbados Turf Club (BTC) and the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), which both had online lotteries.

Subsequent to that the then Government, led by Owen Arthur, said that Barbados was too small for three online lotteries and requested us to meet with a view to merging and having one national lottery to support the various sporting disciplines. The National Sports Council (NSC) was added to the three and remains as the beneficiaries of the National Lottery.   

Needless to say, the BOA has several disciplines under their umbrella as has the National Sports Council, and the revenue from the national lottery remains the main revenue stream of the BOA, NSC, BTC and the BCA.

In recent years the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) has been added as beneficiary of the NSC’s share. Hence, the jingle: Supporting Sport, Youth and Culture.

The winding up of the Instant Money Game was a challenge but once we found an online lottery within a year, it turned out to be a most worthwhile exercise.

HOLDER: What’s the size of the BCA office staff and how would you describe the BCA’s financial status?

RILEY: We have a staff of 34 comprising of office, coaches and grounds, headed by our current Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Roland Toppin.

It is a substantial change from when I first joined the Board 25-odd years ago where the entire operations were run by the executive secretary Basil Matthews.

Our financial statements reflect that we have been in a reasonably healthy state executing our programmes although we are owed millions by a number of entities, namely Kensington Development Corporation and Cricket West Indies.

They are shown on the books as receivables by our auditors, and we hope that over time we will collect all or a part of this rather substantial amount. I hope that we will be able to build out our indoor facility in the old Armstrong bond, which was compulsory acquired by Government and earmarked to house our indoor facility prior to the 2007 World Cup.

The drawings were done and approved by the Town and Country Planning back in 2005. Hence we are anxious to collect the outstanding amounts owed to the BCA so that we can build out the facility. Certainly, we would love to have it completed before the 2024 World Cup in the Caribbean, which would enhance our bid to host the Final as we did in 2007 (50-over) and 2010 (men’s and women’s Twenty20).

These Finals will be hosted jointly by Cricket West Indies and the Americas and we certainly want Kensington Oval to be the epicenter of these Finals and the indoor facility would enhance our bid for the Final.

HOLDER: How are preparations going for the 2022 BCA domestic season?

RILEY: The season starts on April 23 with three T20 tournaments – Cup (Elite and First division), Shield (Intermediate division) and Plate (Second division). Following will be the 50-over Cup (Elite and First division), 40-over Shield (Intermediate) and 40-over Plate (Second division) beginning in June, and then the traditional league competitions. The season ends December 18.

HOLDER: It is unfortunate that Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) will not be taking part this season. Why have they withdrawn?

RILEY: They have withdrawn due to a lack of funding and a badly damaged outfield. Paragon was used as one of the venues for Covid patients and vehicles traversed the field.

HOLDER: Are you interested in running for the CWI presidency?

RILEY: I have not given it any serious thought as I was focused on Barbados’ cricket situation in this Covid-19 period. The term of the current leadership ends in March 2023 and I may give consideration to taking on that role towards the end of the year.

Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (rebranded Elite in 2012) Championship for four decades and provides statistics and stories for the BCA website (www.barbadoscricket.org). Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com