Dear Sir,

This is an excellent commentary on what has transpired and what continues to plague West Indies cricket (“On the Cricket Pitch: WICB problems greater than expected”). There is a lot more to the division between WICB and WIPA than just the money or a weak administration. Attitude of the players is a major reason and their evident belief that because they have the “support” of many of the public, that whatever they do to oppose the WICB is right. They have been led astray by the leadership of WIPA, which has its own axe to grind with WICB, and is making the players the simple stooges in this scenario.

The players have a seriously false sense of their own worth. They want to project themselves in the same light as the winning teams of a decade or two ago, but they are not even shadows of those former players. They expect to reap similar rewards to those former players who earned their reputations and rewards through sweat and performance on the fields. However, the current crop expects to do this without putting in the time or achieving the results to merit a fraction of the reward. This is largely how WIPA has achieved their control of the players; by telling them how great they are and how much they deserve to be paid, thus inflating their egos.

The WICB must get its administration in order and avoid the foul-ups that have plagued its actions. These issues have caused the public to lose confidence in the Board and urgent steps need to be taken to restore confidence. One way might be that after this immediate mess has been settled, the Board is restructured. That could mean all current members stepping down and an election being called. In the meantime; the present team in South Africa has my support; the first time in ages I have been able to support the regional team!

D. Newsam