Monday, February 16, 2009

Accountability in West Indies cricket??? Howzat!

The recent cricket debacle in Antigua where a test match had to be suspended after bowling of only 10 balls is like a microcosm of the West Indies.

Here we have a great brand – West Indies Cricket – built on the backs of raw talent honed by the players themselves, despite, not because of the support and intervention of the official ruling body. The brand is not just about the players – it is the entire experience of cricket in the West Indies – the colour, the passion, the dancing and noise of the spectators; the entertaining characters like Gypsy; the party atmosphere interspersed with the concentrated attention of those who take the game seriously and can summon at a moment’s notice every statistic and event relevant to a particular moment in the game; the radio commentary which is an art in an of itself, narrative of each play interspersed with descriptions of the atmosphere, the breathtaking scenery that is the backdrop of each sun-nestled cricket ground in the West Indies and our history in this glorious game; the food, the beer, the rum, the pounding music – reggae, and soca and every rhythm in between. It is a compelling brand that rivets cricket fans throughout the world and causes many to travel to the West Indies just for the experience

One would think that with such a brand, there would be some strategy to build on and sustain it to the benefit and glory of the peoples of the region. Oh no …. it is taken for granted, those who build and are a part of the brand disrespected and sidelined, as peripheral to the business of cricket. The players hardly seem to have a voice. When they try to be heard they are disciplined, like some little recalcitrant schoolboys who don’t know their place. In the Cricket World Cup two years ago, our music was banned from the grounds, the game sterilised to resemble some disinfected version of something that the world actually loves – all in the name of someone’s idea of what “world class” and “first world” is. Truth is, West Indies cricket IS world class – but not because of the powers that be.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Antigua. Yet again, the West Indies Cricket Board messed up big time. And yet again, they see no reason to accept full responsibility and remove themselves. They lack vision. They are totally incompetent. They are out of touch with the world. They are disrespectful and arrogant. In Japan, were they samurai, they would long ago have put the sword through their stomachs. I suspect that even if they did it now, it would have little effect for they are gutless, spineless has-beens.

How different is this to other spheres of West Indian life? Not much. In everything for which we are known – music, sports, rum, beer – it is officialdom that tears down in its quest for control. No accountability. No acceptance of responsibility – just glorying in results that are not of their own doing, and boldly, arrogantly seeking to blame others when things go wrong.
Yes, what happened in Antigua is a shame – but why are we surprised? It happens every day. Life in the tropics ….

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So true!! So true!! Accountability! Accountability! And more accountability is the watchword.