Published: Apr 10, 2016, 12:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 10, 2016, 01:09 PM (IST)
Amidst the controversies regarding the disagreement between West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the players, legendary pacer Joel Garner has expressed that he is quite unhappy with the way West Indian politicians interfered in the matters purely related to cricket. President of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), Garner has recently mentioned during a BCA meeting that the Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket consulted International Cricket Council (ICC) as well as Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding the player-board disagreement. He also put into question the efforts of the government towards improving the facilities for the game. READ: Kieron Pollard slams WICB over treatment of the players
This clashes with ICC’s terms of politics not being involved with the game. Sri Lanka Cricket received a warning from ICC last year that mentioned suspension of membership as a result of a similar political interference. While Garner put his urges in front of legends such as Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Wesley Hall and Desmond Haynes, WICB president Dave Cameron has spoke for the board.
“We only have 52 weeks in a year. If you want to play Big Bash, Ram Slam and all those T20 tournaments, then we also need you to bring back the information and the experience to our players back home and also our sponsors who are sponsoring our tournaments who want to have our stars back home. You can’t want to play everywhere, the WICB has to call on your services either domestic or international, but then you want the WICB to pay you a nice, big, fat retainer,” Cameron said, as reported by barbadostoday.bb.
Former prime minister Owen Arther, in the same meeting, said, “It is not very difficult to see how or why all of the circumstances surrounding the governance of the development of West Indies cricket needs to be substantially re-ordered and improved to restore the Caribbean game to its former glory within the family of cricketing nations. Conflict and confusion at all levels and between all entities however seem to be the chief and only indigenous stroke that is being played in relation to West Indies cricket. I have no interest in adding to the controversies either. The WICB should recognise that governments have a role to play in their jurisdictions without which the game at the regional level will wither on the vine. Finding common ground on development matters is the place where the two set of entities need to locate their efforts and energies.”
