Getting Rid of InsularityThu, Mar 1, '07
by DANIEL SINGH
The recent appointment of well-known Trinidadian banker Bruce Aanensen as Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board has caused some raised eyebrows throughout the region.
In fact right here on CaribbeanCricket.com's Doghouse, it has been dubbed the "Trinidadisation" of the WICB -- clearly symbolic of the reaction in some quarters in the wider region to Aanensen's appointment.
Indeed, knowing the history of the WICB's administration of cricket in the region, one could easily understand why such an appointment would create the kind of reaction it has among cricket followers.
The view of some is that WICB President Ken Gordon, a Trinidadian, is appointing persons close to him to further his agenda at the executive level of the board. In other words, the perception is that Gordon simply wants to have his own way and, in this regard, once cannot help but recall his unilateral decision to announce the appointment of Brian Lara as captain for a third time.
While the WICB has been no angel overall, questioning the appointment of Aanensen purely on the basis that he is Trinidadian is rather unfair to the man himself, the board and indeed to the overall development of West Indies cricket.
Appointments should be based on merit regardless of where a person comes from. And Aanensen, who also served as manager of the Trinidad and Tobago football squad for the 2006 World Cup finals, seems well qualified for the job.
The new chief executive officer would of course be replacing Roger Brathwaite, who resigned in March 2006. There was of course Dr. Roland Toppin, who was named as the new chief executive, but he withdrew in January this year, claiming unforeseen personal reasons forced his decision.
As part of the process prior to the appointment of Aanensen as chief executive officer, President Gordon was not part of the selection panel that conducted the interviews and made the recommendation.
Some may argue that he still could have had influence on the process, but that would have become public knowledge by now, given that nothing is a secret for too long at the regional cricket board.
At the WICB operations level, there are two persons from Barbados (Tony Howard, Team Operations Manager, and Paul Skinner, Commercial Manager), two born in Trinidad (Barry Thomas, Chief Finance Officer, and Tony Deyal, Corporate Services Manager), one Australian (Bennett King, Head Coach), and two Guyanese (Clive Lloyd, Team Coordinator, and Imran Khan, team media liaison).
Had Dr. Toppin accepted the job, therefore, the Bajans would have had the biggest representation at this level of the WICB. But in such matters of senior appointment, it should not matter which country is in the majority.
Deyal believes the undue attention to nationality and, in particular, to the fact that Aanensen is from Trinidad is a "distraction" and in fact finds it "distressing."
Speaking from his office in Antigua, the corporate services manager said, "It is myopia like this that keeps West Indies cricket from moving forward," clearly referring to the perception that president Gordon has taken a liking for his fellow Trinidadians for senior positions on the WICB.
In announcing the appointment, Gordon himself was keen to focus on the credentials of Aanensen that made him a suitable choice for chief executive.
"A rare combination of business and sporting expertise, as well as solid management training and experience at the highest levels" is what the president said the new chief executive would bring to the board.
It is now left to Aanensen himself to do justice to his role as CEO and remove whatever doubts there may be about his suitability for such an appointment and the transparency which led to the appointment in the first place.
Issues such as these bring to the fore the problem of insularity in cricket the region. No doubt, this is a problem not just confined to the administration of cricket in relation to the appointment of personnel, but also, and perhaps even more so, as regards selection to the West Indies team.
Over the years, West Indies cricket has undoubtedly been pulled apart in various directions when journalists, senior cricket administrators and other influential people have called for their own countrymen to be included, just for the sake of being loyal to their fellow citizen.
Selection to play on any team, whether it is for the West Indies seniors or for any regional squad at any level, should be based on a player’s merit and not where he comes from.
But time and again, there have been incidents when, as a result of which countries the captain and coach came from, players were mysteriously included at the expense of others who were clearly the more obvious choice, as far as cricketing reasons were concerned.
When Roger Harper's tenure as coach of the West Indies team ended in March 2003, he expressed the view that cricket growth in the region was being hindered by insularity at the highest level.
Harper's view was that insularity was a major hindrance to the regional team reaching its fullest potential and returning to some level of respectability in international cricket, not to mention reclaiming the position of being the world’s best in the game. It is a pity he did not speak out earlier during his stint.
Harper's run-ins with senior players including Lara, Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds were well documented, and it had become clear that he would have been uncomfortable in a second stint if offered one.
Guyanese writer Imran Khan was quite justified when, in October 2003, he challenged Jamaican columnist Tony Becca, who had made a case for fast bowler Darren Powell in the West Indies squad.
Khan's position was that while Becca's call for the inclusion of Powell was not in itself without merit, not mentioning the names of Dave Mohamed and Dinanath Ramnarine, both of whom had excellent seasons in the Red Stripe Bowl that year, was unthinkable.
Take now, for instance, the composition of the 2007 West Indies World Cup squad -- it is hard to imagine Dwayne Smith being included ahead of Darren Sammy in the World Cup side had the composition of the selection panel not been what it is.
Sammy was already ahead of Smith in the one-day side to tour India, which should have been so a long time ago anyway, just prior to the selection of the World Cup team, but his injury unfortunately forced him out. Now Smith has found his way back in and Sammy is in the reserves.
In fact, given Sammy's recent performances in regional cricket and for the West Indies A team, it hard to imagine him not getting the nod ahead of Smith in any West Indies team, assuming cricketing reason is the basis for the selection.
The fact that at least one veteran, well known and well respected commentator has even defended Smith's inclusion lends a great degree of credibility to the regional insularity issue that Harper spoke about.
The entire region is waiting for the day when West Indies cricket will reach the point when, not just appointments, but also selections, will be made purely on merit.
Only then would insularity truly be eliminated.
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