DID WICB CEO LOSE INTEGRITY OVER GAYLE AFFAIR?

Before last Saturday’s loss to Pakistan in St. Lucia the West Indies had lost 120 One Day International since 2001. That was 120, now 121 out of 231 ODI’s since 2001. When you add the 51 Test match losses and only 13 Test wins from 94 Tests over the same period, it’s safe to say that the last decade has not been kind to West Indies cricket.

Those losses coupled with the constant in-fighting have only served to drive fans away from the sport. Many have come to blame the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players’ Association and the players for the change in fortunes from the times when we dominated world cricket. In the decade of the 1980s, for example, the West Indies only lost eight Test matches and won 43, a far cry from what obtains now.

On the surface it would seem that the escalating tensions between the board and the players have only made the players less effective. That would certainly explain former captain’s Chris Gayle’s outburst on KLAS radio recently where he told the board to back off. He said he was tired of being a target for the board and more specifically, it’s CEO Dr. Ernest Hilaire, who many within the player ranks feel has targeted the big-hitting Jamaica since he assumed office just about two years ago.

Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul were not selected for the first three matches of the Digicel 2011 series against Pakistan and India. The WICB suggested that their non-selection was more to do with making room on the team to give exposure to less experienced players as the board set about its strategy to win the ICC World Cup in 2015. But as the days went by, some things began to surface that have been proving particularly embarrassing to the WICB. It is instructive to note that since Gayle’s outburst on KLAS radio when he virtually spilled the beans about what went on behind closed doors with regards to his own personal relationship with the board, there has been no response from the board. The silence has been excruciatingly loud.

The WICB would have had us believe that Gayle had jetted off to India to represent Bangalore in the Indian Premier League while not making himself available for the remainder of the ongoing series against Pakistan, all in effort to make money as opposed to representing the West Indies. Gayle, they suggested who had been injured during the ICC World Cup, was still undergoing rehabilitative work, and chose to pursue money over getting healthy enough to play against Pakistan. But as Gayle eventually revealed in the KLAS outburst, this was not the case.

He revealed that following his return from the World Cup he had – by his own initiative – already started rehab and was virtually fit when he realised that he was not selected for the Twenty20 and the first two ODI’s against Pakistan. It was then that he decided to take up an offer to play in the IPL and sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) that would have given him clearance from the board to play in India.

Below is a copy of an email Gayle sent to Dr. Hillarie…

April 16th 2011 at 3.22pm Chris Gayle to WICB CEO

Note that I do not have any contractual arrangements with the WICB. In fact, as you are aware, as stated in the press release issued on April 14th 2011 by the WICB, I was not considered for selection to participate in the T20 and 2 One Day Internationals against Pakistan. To date no reason has been given by anyone at the WICB for my non selection, including any fitness related issues. Accordingly, I am not certain whether it is in fact necessary to seek this certificate as it was always my understanding that players who are not contracted with the WICB are free to ply their trade in another country without any restriction or interference by any third parties. However, circumstances dictate that this request be made.

Dr. Hilaire responded thus:

Sunday April 17th 2011 WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire to Chris Gayle

You were aware from consultation with the attending physician in England what your diagnosis was and you had in contact with the West Indies Team Physiotherapist on the rehabilitative care. In that regard, I refer to your post on Twitter of March 26th, in which you stated: “After 2days seeing doctors n getting scan finally found the problem! Been playing with a tear in abdominal, small hernia. I’m out couple weeks”

The above suggests that you were aware that you would have required at least 2-3 weeks from March 26th before you could return to training. Therefore, I am not sure why you would say you do now know why you were not selected fort either the T20 or the first two ODIs, as due to the circumstances, you could not have been considered.

But considering that Gayle’s Twitter post on March 26, surely Dr. Hilaire would have recognised that that was more than two weeks that Gayle was making the request for the NOC. The response also suggests that Dr. Hilaire did not speak to Gayle before he (Gayle) had requested the NOC. Why is that?

One of your key players returns from a major tournament with an injury and yet no communication was made with that player prior to him requesting a NOC that would allow him to play IPL cricket in India. It is very instructive that Gayle received an email from the team physiotherapist (seen below) 20 minutes after he had made the request.

Hey guys,

Sorry about the delay. Have been inundated with 32 screenings and a full fitness battery in a week!

Here is a program basic (which I guess has already been started) and a gym based program for prehab and high level strengthening purposes. I hope you have started an outside running program already but I will send one for you requirements if needed.

Let me know

Cheers

CJ

CJ Clark
Team Physiotherapist.

Based on what has come to light via these emails it would seem as if there was a deliberate attempt on the part of the board to mislead the public with regards to Chris Gayle and his decision to play IPL cricket. The big question is, why?

Gayle claims that the board wants to break his influence over the younger players and by doing so destroy WIPA. We have yet to hear the board respond to Gayle’s claims and we eagerly await it.

In the meantime, the WICB claimed had already contacted Sarwan and Chanderpaul and reported that those discussions went well. ‘Well’ in this instance could be considered relative because whatever was discussed with those players prompted Guyana’s Minister of Sport Dr. Frank Anthony to write to the board expressing the country’s concern about the status of the two Guyanese players.

In response, Dr. Hilarie explained the WICB’s policy of giving younger players exposure and urged the Guyanese Minister of Sport not to be influenced by ‘media sensationalism’. However, Dr. Anthony was clearly not convinced by the response received by the WICB CEO.

In fact, his letter reveals some startling accusations.

He wrote:

Dear Mr. Hilaire,

I thank you, most sincerely for your swift response to my April l4th, 2011 correspondence to Mr. Clyde Butts.
Two issues in your first paragraph need to be clarified: Firstly, whilst we in Guyana are very concerned about the omission of Messrs Sarwan and Chanderpaul from the imminent ODI series in the West Indies, my concern is about the bigger picture of the criteria recently used to come up to what must be deemed a dubious decision, especially if Sarwan’s record and relevant statistics for example are taken into account.
Perhaps if the WICB will like to regain the confidence of the Guyanese and Caribbean public then it should fully disclose the records pertaining to the selection of the WI team.

Secondly, I am amused that you think I will, “fall prey to wild media sensationalism”. If I thought, that you were serious about that, I would certainly take exception to the inference. But maybe the wild media sensationalism was fueled by the opaqueness of the selection process, and the coercive tactics used to bully some of the players. This latter was revealed by former Captain Chris Gayle in his recent radio interview.

In terms of the gist of my correspondence to Mr. Butts, dated April 14th 2011, I have to submit respectfully, that – your own response — much of which was released generously to the Regional Media before my request, has not addressed the specific issues that I raised.

For example, did your Board indeed forcefully “invite” Shivnarine Chanderpaul to “retire” from ODI? Did reported tensions between Coach Gibson and the three senior players’ impact upon or influence recent cricketing decisions?

At a personal level, it is only in “extreme” cases that I would consider intervening in matters related to selection. I know only too well, that these matters are best left to the on the ground professionals tasked with such responsibilities. However, I and we in Guyana, retain the right to seek answers when we are confronted with what appears to be non cricketing considerations.

You write that, “…the WICB cannot take a narrow and parochial view in the process of rebuilding West Indies cricket”. That is heartening. Our Guyanese cricketing “experts” will observe whether that process results in specific players being picked for and exposed at specific (home) venues. That indeed would be pandering to “the luxury of parochialism”, which I am assured, runs counter to your selection policy.

It seems that a well meaning call for clarification in the interest of Caribbean cricket continues to be blinded by the thick fog that surrounds the criteria and the process of selection. If the WICB is unable or unwilling to share this information, then I am afraid it is not only the WI team for 2015 that needs rebuilding, but I will humbly suggest that we think about the rebuilding of the administrative and management team that runs West Indies cricket.

I look forward to a useful reply that covers the issues overlooked in your first response and raised herein a few paragraphs above.

It would seem then that there are many issues that need to be sorted out by the board because it now seems that Dr. Hilaire’s integrity is now being called into question. That cannot be a good thing for the WICB that claims its working in the best interest of the sport in the region. By its actions in this instance it seems to be doing anything but.

When the President of the WICB is St. Lucian, the CEO is St. Lucian and the captain is St. Lucian and only a few St. Lucians turned out to watch the West Indies play at home, it speaks volumes as to what direction the sport is headed. Based on what we observed, it is not the right one.