West Indies cricket goes lower and lower

Anytime one concludes and reclines with the assurance that West Indies cricket has hit its all-time low, there comes a happening that takes it even lower.

The latest upheaval is the sending home of senior test batsman Darren Bravo, from the tri-nation ODI series currently taking place in Zimbabwe, and which also involves Sri Lanka.{{more}}

This was as a consequence of the Bravo using his Twitter account to refer to president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Dave Cameron, as an “idiot”.

Before that episode, it was about the type of central contract that the WICB had offered to Bravo and Cameron’s explanations.

But straight up, Bravo’s name calling was wrong, as it is uncouth and not becoming of him to address Cameron, who indirectly is his employer, in that manner.

A WICB release said Bravo had been replaced due to inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour, which is contrary to his contractual obligations to the WICB. Fair, but the further threats by the board to levy other disciplinary actions are worrying signs, as Bravo had chosen not to remove the comment by the stipulated time last Saturday.

How many times will Bravo be punished for this infraction?

Cameron, who himself is intimate with social media, has found himself at the wrong end of comments.

It was the same Cameron who last year February had tweeted that it was time that explosive batsman and former West Indies captain Chris Gayle be given a retirement package.

Cameron apologized, but unlike Bravo was not punished, but given another term.

As the days go by, one awaits the outcome of the Bravo story, as surely the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) will give its native son, unstoppable support.

And, given the history of such situations, this one could well end up in the court of law.

This is a place that the WICB should fear, as their record is winless whenever things reach that stage, and more so when sued by players.

But even before Bravo’s outburst came up, there was also that of Carlos Brathwaite – the World Twenty/20 final hero in India, who has since been elevated to captain in the regional side’s Twenty/20 team.

Brathwaite had slapped the WICB in its face by rejecting the retainer contract offered to him.

The sneaky ways in which the board addresses players’ fallout sometimes comes over as spiteful and vindictive.

Was it not the same board that hosted players in Florida in August to flesh out the issues which have been irking them and to have an open confabulation?

However, this turned out to be a smokescreen, as soon after, Darren Sammy, who had just captained the West Indies to the 20/20 world title, was sent packing from the team, as he was deemed not being able to command a place.

That type of vendetta has been the board’s modus operandi in recent times, as once you speak out, the exit door is your next sign.

The list of those who endured the board’s wrath not too long ago also includes Kieron Pollard and former coach Phil Simmons.

This does not mean that the players mentioned are in any way saints, but that is the axe wielding way of those with the steering wheel in their hands.

The situations, however, are so much worse that there seems to be no one who is willing to be the peacemaker and travel down the path of turning the other cheek.

On one hand, the players who are revolting have minted monies the world over, plying their trade in the various Twenty/20 cricket franchises, hence are set for life and are taking some unbridled liberty to criticize the hierarchy of the board and its operations.

In the other corner, the board is employing each and every tactic to dole out administrative squeezes in return.

At the centre of the wars of words, has been Cameron, who is jittery at taking on everything that is being said.

This is the extent of the divide of the regional game, its players and its administrators.

Also, regional politicians have used their offices to strike deals, offer suggestions, facilitate compromises, engage learned persons to write papers on the way to fix cricket in the region.

West Indies cricket has now surpassed that of Pakistan as the most difficult to have a prolonged period of amicable relations in which the players, the board, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), regional governments and those who still have an interest in success and progress of the sport, are at some state of comfort.

The lone salvation that West Indies cricket is enjoying is the high demand for its players around the world in the lucrative 20/20 tournaments.

Is this the best we can do?