THE SUCCESSFUL hosting of World Cup 2007, the premier cricket event which comes to the Caribbean in that year, requires the support of all sectors of society, and in particular, the business sector.
Cricket's ruling authority here, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has begun to give assurances about our capacity to host this mammoth series and has put in place a board of management which appears to be representative of the region and the professions needed to comprehensively tackle the challenges in an organized and disciplined manner in the coming years.
The Guyana Government welcomes the challenge that has been placed upon the Caribbean to host a series of such import. It has offered to provide whatever logistical support may be required, including the construction of a stadium, to ensure Guyana serves as an effective co-host and it has already urged all Guyanese to see preparing for World Cup '07 as a national effort.
But like the Nation and other media houses across the Caribbean, we are as elated about World Cup Cricket coming to the region as we are concerned about how the game is managed by the WICB.
Here's how the Nation continues to address the issue:
This regional body has the propensity to convey the impression of being inept and inefficient in the execution of its affairs. We speak not only to the clumsy matter of the recent aborted attempt to put in place a successor to Rev. Wes Hall, president, but more generally to other shortcomings over the years, like the recent Bennett King affair which was an embarrassment to the entire Caribbean nation. The incidents, to a greater or lesser extent, point to weaknesses which fail to inspire confidence in the administration of our cricket.
In order for us to successfully host the World Cup, the WICB must be able to win corporate friends and influence business people to join them in this undertaking. One way to ensure this is to conduct the affairs of the organization, and to administer business in a mature, efficient and transparent manner at all times. The WICB's affairs must therefore demonstrate timely and appropriate interventions and due process, among other things.
We are all aware that recently members of the executive committee of the WICB decided that they could muster enough support for one of their own to be elected to the highest office of cricket in the Caribbean. They counted heads and knew they could secure a majority and determined that Mr. Chetram Singh would succeed Rev. Hall.
We all know the embarrassing result of that decision.
We believe that the executive committee members sincerely thought they were doing West Indies cricket a favour by not seeking to expose the election to a bruising contest. But it did not appear to be fair to the process of candidate selection. Why should five men decide that they, and none of the five million other people in the region represented by their respective associations, should have a say in the selection of someone to run West Indies cricket?
This and other strange decisions make us wonder whether the WICB's modus operandi could stand the test of best practice as is expected in good corporate governance.
We wonder if the board is conscious of the drive today in corporate circles toward transparency and consultation.
We wonder too if on reflection the WICB thinks that the attempt to handpick a new president is a good example of decision-making.
We further wonder if such conduct does not influence players to resort to strikes, sit-ins and other forms of industrial action.
We must ask the question: What does our cricket really mean to the key decision-makers of the Caribbean, including the executive committee of the WICB?
And are our politicians, now that we are in the mode of seeking regionalism, comfortable with what they observe in the WICB?
We know how the people of the Caribbean feel about their cricket. But we ask the authorities, not for the first time: How do you see our cricket which represents the one area of excellence for which the Caribbean is renowned? Are you satisfied that you are doing all you can to ensure that West Indies cricket maintains the fine reputation held by the players, the public and the wider world?