Western Bureau:

While I am still annoyed with Professor Hilary Beckles for his most unfortunate labelling of former West Indies captain Christopher Gayle as a 'don', the burning anger I initially felt has somewhat subsided with his subsequent apology.

As far as I am concerned, whether or not the apology is a genuine reflection of how Beckles now feels, I believe that, unlike some of the persons who saw nothing wrong with the inflammatory statement, it was good that he at least had the decency to say he had erred in his characterisation of the batsman.

While I am prepared to forgive Beckles for his indiscretion, I am still baffled by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), which apart from saying the professor spoke in his personal capacity and not as a member of the board, seems unconcerned about the toxic nature of the statement.

Based on the way the WICB operate, especially in its dealings with WIPA, it seems reasonable to conclude that the board is made up of men without vision, whose egos means much more to them than the precious legacy that was built and fortified by stalwarts such as Sir Frank Worrell and Clive Lloyd.

Unless my memory has failed, I can't remember a single instance in which the WICB has come up right in any of the cases in which arbitration was used to settle a dispute with WIPA. In fact, one could say with fair justification that the board is notorious for getting things wrong.

self-defeating

With what is now a long and wretched history of blundering, I believe CARICOM, which has a mandate to unite the region, needs to step in with a view to bringing order to an organisation, which is basically self-defeating. While nothing is wrong with individual countries voicing their concerns, I believe the voice of CARICOM would carry much more weight.

Personally, I would love to see a return to the days when our cricket benefited from the input of leaders like the late Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, who views were widely respected. Our cricket belongs to the 19 million people in the English-speaking Caribbean and it is wrong to sit back and allow a few individuals, with questionable commitment, to wreck it.

operational guidelines

If the WICB refuse to see WIPA as a partner in the building of the region's cricket, maybe CARICOM needs to formulate operational guidelines to get them to work together. The constant war of words and conflicting views can only lead to more acrimony when what is really needed is a generous injection of unity.

As far as I am concerned, the board feels threatened by both the independence of WIPA and the success of those cricketers, who managed to acquire a fair amount of wealth through ventures such as the Indian Premier League. I believe that instead of trying to maintain a 'Backra Massa' posture, the board needs to emancipate itself from mental slavery.

As the players' bargaining unit, WIPA has every right to defend their best interest. Instead of seeking to strip the players of their rights, the board, through dialogue with WIPA, should be seeking to create conditions to get value for money from the players.

I have been following West Indies cricket since the Indians came here in the early 1970s. In those early days, it was one of the passions that I shared with my late father. In my over 40-year association with the game, I believe the current period has been the most disappointing and frustrating.

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