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FROM THE BOUNDARY - The president is the man - remember that
published: Friday | August 31, 2007
Tony Becca
THINGS ARE happening so fast in West Indies cricket that one can hardly keep up with them.
On the field, for example, apart from the many players who have represented the West Indies since 2000, in Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper, Ridley Jacobs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Daren Ganga, the West Indies have had seven captains. And off the field, with Pat Rousseau, followed by Wes Hall, followed by Teddy Griffith, followed by Ken Gordon and now by Julian Hunte, the West Indies have had five presidents.
And it does not stop there. With Gregory Shillingford, followed by Roger Brathwaite and then Bruce Aanensen, after a long time without anyone in the job, the West Indies have had three chief executive officers in seven years and are at present looking for number four.
Apart from the constant fight between the board and the players over money and contracts, the reason why there have been somany changes at the top of West Indies cricket is simply, in my humble opinion, because everyone, the captain, the president, the CEO, and even the chairman of the selection committee, of whom there have also been a few over in the same period, wants to run West Indies cricket.
In command
In the tradition of the West Indian man, almost every one of them who have held those positions wants to behave as if they are in command, as if they are invaluable to West Indies cricket and because of that they tend to flex their muscles at the first sign of opposition.
As the man whose main responsibility is to lead the team on the field, the captain, for example, always seems to behave as if he is the president as well the captain, as if he is the chairman of the selection committee as well as the captain, and because of that, like the champion of some cause or the other, he is always getting involved in things which are outside his range of responsibility.
As the man who has been elected as the one to run the game, as the man whose main responsibility is to administer the game, the president sometimes allows things to get out of control with others behaving as if they are in control before stepping in. And as the man whose responsibility is simply to select the best team to represent the West Indies, the chairman of the selectors sometimes behave as if he is the elected one, as if he is in control of the game and therefore has the right to do things which should be the responsibility of the board through its sub-committee on cricket.
And there is no difference between any of them and the CEO.
The CEOs went into the job believing that they were in control, that as it is in the corporate world where they were all successful, they could do whatever they wanted to do. That because they were so qualified, they believed they knew everything and were untouchable and at the first sign of opposition, even from the president, they reacted and the result was problems.
What the CEOs did not understand wasthat West Indies cricket was not a boardroom.
Territories
West Indies cricket is unusual. West Indies cricket is made up of many territories - many self-governed countries with their own prime ministers and their own money. The West Indies team is made up of players from many different territories, the West Indies Cricket Board comprises elected representatives from the territories, plus a president, a vice-president and now three other representatives, and regardless of the legal structure of the board, the president of the board is the man in charge.
In West Indies cricket, the president of the board, the man who is voted to run West Indies cricket, is the one whose neck is on the line whenever things go wrong.
It only stands to reason, therefore, that CEO or not, the president must have a say in what goes on in West Indies cricket - and especially so when there has been a lot of problems and when he is the new man taking over.
Up to when Aanensen tendered his resignation just over a week ago, the West Indies players had not been paid for the World Cup, they had not been paid for the tour of England, despite the ruling of the arbitration panel, Aanensen had refused to pay them because of a few concerns, including a feeling by some board members that they did not deserve so much money. The new president, Julian Hunte, instructed him to pay them and he refused.
Decisions
Along with many other complaints, some of them quite justified, Aanensen said in his resignation letter that he was not sure that the president has the authority to make a decision like that without the approval of the board, that he was not comfortable in the environment, and that he must be the only CEO without the authority to act - from hiring a physiotherapist to appointing a team manager.
Coming from the corporate world, it must have been really difficult for Aanensen. But that is West Indies cricket.
As the man voted number one, as the man in the hot seat, as the new man coming in afterso many problems, the president must have the last word, and with the last word being "pay the players" it may have been a move aimed at winning over the players, Hunte was acting in the best interest of West Indies cricket.
published: Friday | August 31, 2007
Tony Becca
THINGS ARE happening so fast in West Indies cricket that one can hardly keep up with them.
On the field, for example, apart from the many players who have represented the West Indies since 2000, in Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper, Ridley Jacobs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Daren Ganga, the West Indies have had seven captains. And off the field, with Pat Rousseau, followed by Wes Hall, followed by Teddy Griffith, followed by Ken Gordon and now by Julian Hunte, the West Indies have had five presidents.
And it does not stop there. With Gregory Shillingford, followed by Roger Brathwaite and then Bruce Aanensen, after a long time without anyone in the job, the West Indies have had three chief executive officers in seven years and are at present looking for number four.
Apart from the constant fight between the board and the players over money and contracts, the reason why there have been somany changes at the top of West Indies cricket is simply, in my humble opinion, because everyone, the captain, the president, the CEO, and even the chairman of the selection committee, of whom there have also been a few over in the same period, wants to run West Indies cricket.
In command
In the tradition of the West Indian man, almost every one of them who have held those positions wants to behave as if they are in command, as if they are invaluable to West Indies cricket and because of that they tend to flex their muscles at the first sign of opposition.
As the man whose main responsibility is to lead the team on the field, the captain, for example, always seems to behave as if he is the president as well the captain, as if he is the chairman of the selection committee as well as the captain, and because of that, like the champion of some cause or the other, he is always getting involved in things which are outside his range of responsibility.
As the man who has been elected as the one to run the game, as the man whose main responsibility is to administer the game, the president sometimes allows things to get out of control with others behaving as if they are in control before stepping in. And as the man whose responsibility is simply to select the best team to represent the West Indies, the chairman of the selectors sometimes behave as if he is the elected one, as if he is in control of the game and therefore has the right to do things which should be the responsibility of the board through its sub-committee on cricket.
And there is no difference between any of them and the CEO.
The CEOs went into the job believing that they were in control, that as it is in the corporate world where they were all successful, they could do whatever they wanted to do. That because they were so qualified, they believed they knew everything and were untouchable and at the first sign of opposition, even from the president, they reacted and the result was problems.
What the CEOs did not understand wasthat West Indies cricket was not a boardroom.
Territories
West Indies cricket is unusual. West Indies cricket is made up of many territories - many self-governed countries with their own prime ministers and their own money. The West Indies team is made up of players from many different territories, the West Indies Cricket Board comprises elected representatives from the territories, plus a president, a vice-president and now three other representatives, and regardless of the legal structure of the board, the president of the board is the man in charge.
In West Indies cricket, the president of the board, the man who is voted to run West Indies cricket, is the one whose neck is on the line whenever things go wrong.
It only stands to reason, therefore, that CEO or not, the president must have a say in what goes on in West Indies cricket - and especially so when there has been a lot of problems and when he is the new man taking over.
Up to when Aanensen tendered his resignation just over a week ago, the West Indies players had not been paid for the World Cup, they had not been paid for the tour of England, despite the ruling of the arbitration panel, Aanensen had refused to pay them because of a few concerns, including a feeling by some board members that they did not deserve so much money. The new president, Julian Hunte, instructed him to pay them and he refused.
Decisions
Along with many other complaints, some of them quite justified, Aanensen said in his resignation letter that he was not sure that the president has the authority to make a decision like that without the approval of the board, that he was not comfortable in the environment, and that he must be the only CEO without the authority to act - from hiring a physiotherapist to appointing a team manager.
Coming from the corporate world, it must have been really difficult for Aanensen. But that is West Indies cricket.
As the man voted number one, as the man in the hot seat, as the new man coming in afterso many problems, the president must have the last word, and with the last word being "pay the players" it may have been a move aimed at winning over the players, Hunte was acting in the best interest of West Indies cricket.