11 May 2006 18:30
Kenneth Gordon - WICB President
WICB PRESIDENT MEETS WINDIES PLAYERS
by
www.windiescricket.com President of the WICB, Mr. Kenneth Gordon, met the members West Indies cricket team upon their arrival in Trinidad & Tobago on Thursday.
Following is the full text of the President's presentation to the players.
Gentlemen, I asked to see you for two reasons:
The first because as your President, we need to know each other. If this has not happened in the past, that is unfortunate, for lack of contact does not facilitate the kind of relationship that should exist when two parties are working towards the same objective.
The other reason is to discuss with you some of the realities which stand between the current state of our cricket, winning the World Cup and turning around West Indies cricket.
Let me begin by emphasizing the transformation which has occurred in recent times at the level of the WICB. The Board has traditionally been accused of being opposed to the interest of players and even being 'anti-player' by some. But let's look at today's reality:
Two of the six members who make up the Executive of the Board are former Test players. The other two members of the Executive Committee are the Vice President and myself.
Four of the twelve members who make up the Board of the WICB are former West Indies players. The other two members of the Board are the Vice president and myself.
The Chairman of our Cricket Committee is the most successful West Indian Captain ever, whose team dominated the cricket world for 14 years.
The Cricket Committee, the WICB's principal advisor on cricket is made up of five of our former Great West Indian players.
The coordinator and the three other members who make up the Selection Committee are former Test players.
The Chairman of our negotiating team is a former Vice Captain of the West Indies team and the same man who founded the West Indies Players Association some 18 years ago.
And let me add only half facetiously, the President of the West Indies Cricket Board compensates for his undistinguished performance on the field by his passion for the game.
Few have stopped long enough to come to terms with these realities and what they mean. Former West Indies players are now at the heart of all the decisions that guide West Indies cricket. Whatever further refinements may be ahead, no one in his or her right mind can persist with the longstanding accusation of indifference by the WICB to the interests of players. For so many of them who guide WICB decisions were once players like you are. And let us remember that this transformation did not come about because it was forced on us. They were all freely made by a forward thinking West Indies Cricket Board in preparing for the future.
BURY DISCORD
Let us therefore once and for all bury that popular note of discord. Whatever the baggage of the past, the current decision makers in West Indies cricket have as their primary concern the developing of a West Indies team, that is fairly treated, consistent in performance and well rewarded. But have changes in the performance and preparation of our players kept pace with the changes which the Board has made to bring itself into the 21st Century?
Regrettably, the answer is no and you know that as well as I do.
But this can and must change. Not for my sake or for the sake of the WICB, or even WIPA, but for your sake. For the development of your personal aspirations, but even more importantly for the preservation of the umbilical cord from which we hope our West Indian Nation may yet arise.
We must do what the Australians did some fifteen years ago when they were overcome by our talent. They went to the drawing board. They mobilized technology around the conviction that talent is really secondary to discipline and professionalism. They placed their players under retainer contracts, refined their coaching methods and developed the mental and physical toughness which comes only from application.
And the other cricketing Nations followed - for length, direction, movement and control, getting in line, focus and selectivity are strengths that do not come purely because one has talent. It is those who work hardest and develop the unrelenting discipline that is required who achieve the major successes.
So the deterioration in our performance over the years is not because our talent was less, but because the opposition was more - more professional.
Now that we have followed that example and moved to level the playing field by agreeing on retainer contracts, we have much to do. Time is short if we are going to win the World Cup and only you, who are the embodiment of the hopes of more than six million West Indian people, can make that happen.
You have made a good start with Zimbabwe, but that is only the beginning - for winning must become a way of life for West Indian cricket and we must plan carefully. This must begin by having open lines of communication between us. So often difficulties can be cleared up when the misunderstandings which must inevitably occur are addressed promptly and before they become BIG misunderstandings. Then we have to understand that we are really part of one team. Our immediate interests may not always be identical but they converge for we both want and need a winning West Indies team.
Our Board has demonstrated it's confidence in the potential of your team by the terms of the retainer contracts which have now been agreed. These are not only favourably competitive with teams that are ahead of us in the international standings but this has been done at a time when the WICB remains in serious financial difficulties. Making that investment - for this is what it is - is a decision we have made with our eyes wide open. But this is a two way street. Sponsorship is a necessary part of sport and more particularly cricket in today's world, so let's treat those we have with appreciation and then go out to find others. We need them for they must pay the bills as we chart our way forward. We must therefore treat them fairly.
On that note I must advise you that we have recently entered into a very promising arrangement with the Indian Cricket Board which can play an important part in our future plans. There is, as some of you may be aware, tremendous potential for developing cricket in North America where the Diaspora is large, vibrant and only too anxious to embrace the game. We expect this to open many opportunities but we must go there as winners, not as the supporting act in a two part series with India. Let us therefore set our sights and our targets one at a time, first, Zimbabwe - next India - next Champions Trophy and then the World Cup.
TARGETS
Our new captain has often emphasized the benefits of goal setting. Fixing targets along the way as you move to two, four or six wickets. Or one, two or even four hundred runs, why not? We have set comparable targets within the West Indies Board and we are well on the way to accomplishing them. Now we are at the threshold of the big one, but only you can deliver that, for the big one is getting the right results on the field.
We need to see the spark of a new era in everything you do. Your approach to the game - in equipping yourself with knowledge - your sharpness in the field - how you live the game and the unrelenting focus with which you address whatever is required of you. Success begins with the energy you bring to the game and the commitment with which you respond to whatever is required of you.
Let us comprehensively bury the complaints and baggage of the past. We need to think positive. Become positive and by your performance, send an unmistakable message to the cricketing world "things are different now, for the new West Indies team is on the move".
It is my sincere hope that you will welcome the dawn of this new era in West Indies cricket as enthusiastically as I do, that we will look to the future with confidence and will close ranks to take West Indies cricket forward.
Good luck to you in the current series, better luck to you in the forthcoming series against India, and let us work together to win the future.
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