WEST INDIES NEWS
West Indies collapsed to 27 all out in Sabina Park. © AFP
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has called an emergency meeting of its Cricket Strategy Committee and invited Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Brian Lara for inputs. The decision follows West Indies team’s humiliating capitulation, for 27 runs, in the day-night Test against Australia in Jamaica on Tuesday.
“As an immediate step, I have advised the Chair of the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee to convene an emergency meeting to review the recent Test series against Australia, particularly the final match,” CWI president Dr Kishore Shallow said in a statement.
“To strengthen the discussions, I have extended invitations to three of our greatest batsmen ever: Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards, and Brian Lara. They will join past greats Dr. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dr. The Most Honourable Desmond Haynes, Ian Bradshaw, who already serve on the committee.”
The CWI move comes in the midst of heavy criticism of the CWI functioning. “Board members pay themselves what they want, select players based on personal loyalty rather than merit, and treat national team results as irrelevant. Whether we win, lose, or are completely humiliated on the international stage, the outcome is the same: they stay in power,” Dinanath Ramnarine, a former West Indies spinner, wrote in a signed article posted on his social media handle.
“And when the public dares to ask: “Where is the plan?” the answer is often a hastily stitched-together program meant to score headlines, not results. There is no proper, well-thought-out development plan. No long-term structure. No sustainable systems. Just tokenism, PR, and smoke screens. It’s not progress-they’re just buying time.
“Fans are not fooled. They’ve walked away from the sport in droves, not with protest, but with silence. And while the passion fades from the stands and the grassroots, those in charge cling to their positions, immune to results and deaf to criticism.
“And when we suffer defeats-not by a few runs, but crushing losses like 100-run demolitions by teams like the USA-there’s no introspection, no accountability. No one steps aside. The same faces remain, making the same excuses, drawing from the same failed playbook.
“More recently, the situation has gone from bad to worse. A heart wrenching loss to Australia-yet another in a string of heavy defeats-was followed by an all-time low, as our team was bowled out for a paltry 27 runs, the second-lowest score in the entire history of Test cricket. That is not only disastrous, it is disheartening and sad. And yet, somehow, we’re expected to carry on as if this is normal. It is not. These are the consequences of a broken system-one that no longer produces world-class players, but instead exposes them unprepared to the world stage,” Ramnarine further wrote.
Where and when the review meeting will take place is not clear but the CWI president said, “This engagement is not ceremonial. These are men who helped define our golden eras, and their perspectives will be invaluable as we shape the next phase of our cricket development. We intend for this gathering to result in tangible, actionable recommendations.”
© Cricbuzz
