SPORTS

When I was chairman of a national selection panel in another sport a few years ago, on one occasion the management committee overturned the team we selected. I was never given an official reason but I did get the impression the decision was made because they disagreed with the omission of one of the regular national players.

There was no breech of protocol on our part and after doing the hard work (attending trials, etc) our opinion counted for nothing. I should have resigned there and then but I didn’t. Given a similar set of circumstances, I would not hesitate to do so in future.

Incidentally, my resignation was submitted several months later, not because of any philosophical differences, but as part of my preparation to leave Barbados and commence my stint here.

If reports carried in the Sunday Sun in Barbados are true and the West Indies selectors really recommended Ramnaresh Sarwan for the position of West Indies captain only to be overruled by the Board, it is reason enough for the selectors to take a stand on principle and step aside.

New WICB President Ken Gordon has promoted a theme of accountability since taking office. If he is sincere about this then the selectors at least - and since the story has already leaked, the public - deserves an explanation.

The selectors are chosen to do a job. While it may be voluntary, funds are spent on them to ensure they have the necessary resources. When they consistently fail to get satisfactory results it is reasonable for them and the public to expect they will be changed.

While I accept that the WICB has the overall responsibility for every aspect of West Indies cricket, such micro-management only serves to undermine the work being done by individuals asked to play specific roles. I find it difficult to believe Board members and Directors are put in place to duplicate the duties of selectors who must be seen as specialists with a technical appreciation for the intricacies of the task before them.

We will not always agree with them and when there is disagreement it is fair to offer constructive criticism but a Board that interferes with the choices of selectors is similar to the administrative arm of a hospital dictating to its doctors the preferred medical strategies to adopt.

If Sarwan was ineligible for disciplinary or other reasons the selectors should have been informed before discussions began.

The WICB and its sub committees are governed by specific guidelines. I believe it is the job of the Board to ensure that procedures are followed and that the process has not been compromised. When it has been they are justified in stepping in but if they can arbitrarily overrule the Board on a decision made in good faith while following due process then it makes little sense for the selectors to be part of the process and only amounts to further wastage by unnecessarily convening a meeting for which costs are incurred.

Can we expect to see the selectors being overruled if the WICB believes they should have selected a pacer over a spinner or if they decide to play six specialist batsmen rather than five? What if they decide to recall Junior Murray to replace Denest Ramdin? They could easily have stepped in after Joey Carew and his crew recalled Rawle Lewis after seven years in the wilderness ahead of Dave Mohammad.

These are all decisions critical to the success of the West Indies team. They will make mistakes but must endeavour to learn from them. Are we on course for the type of chaos seen in other jurisdictions when one or two individuals influence all that is happening?

I respect the power of the WICB in the chain of command but if the players do not feel comfortable that they are part of a system that is not only transparent but based on common sense, they are unlikely to function at their best. If the selectors cannot be trusted to make the decisions for which they are put in place and given resources, the system is not working efficiently. If the WICB only accepts decisions made by the selectors when they agree with them, the board should pick not only the captain but also the team.