PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A two-day regional conference on West Indies cricket got underway here on Thursday with stakeholders, including government and administrators, seeking to develop strategies to reinvigorate the game that once had the Caribbean at the pinnacle of the global sport.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping is hosting the conference, and host Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley emphasized the “cultural and emotional significance” of cricket in the West Indies, linking national pride to the team’s performance over several decades.
“West Indies cricket creates a strange nation, but it’s effective because we have been world leaders in this game that we love so much. And why is it important for us to want a reinvigoration of West Indies cricket? It is because our Caribbean nation is lifted when we win when we play well, and we are depressed and don’t do well in cricket.”
But Rowley, who chairs the CARICOM Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket, acknowledged that there are “challenges in cricket management,” noting the “dissatisfaction with the current management of West Indies cricket” while highlighting issues both on and off the field.
“We are not the first nation to have had issues with our game, but what drove this conference to its reality today is an impatience and an understanding that, unlike other countries that have had downs in their cricket history, we in the Caribbean seem to be taking a very long time to come out of our downturn in cricket.
“Many West Indies don’t realize that. We are, in fact, the smallest population of people playing this game, wanting to compete at the highest level and having set records of all kinds. But there’s something about us in the Caribbean that might be special in this game because we could play this game.”
Rowley also mentioned “the need to understand and manage cricket not only as a sport but also as a business” and called for the professional management of resources.
He suggested that the conference conduct a SWOT analysis to understand better the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing West Indies cricket.
In his address, Rowley said the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) contract needs to be revisited to ensure it is “fair and beneficial” for West Indies cricket.
“One opportunity lost is to be in a position to ensure that in the billion-dollar industry, in the money-making part of the business that we are there to own. Ladies and gentlemen, on that comment, I want to say today that in the interest of West Indies Cricket and managing resources that are available to us or should be available to us, it is essential for West Indies Cricket to reopen the CPL contract and to look at the resources available to West Indies Cricket. That lopsided contract must not stand.”
Rowley also warned the region of the threat of losing cricket culture if facilities like cricket fields and nets are not maintained in schools and communities.
He said that despite management issues, players often unite effectively as a team, suggesting that problems lie more with administration than team spirit.
Rowley called for a commitment to strategic planning to ensure West Indies cricket’s future success and sustainability.
In his address, Cricket West Indies President Dr. Kishore Shallow referred to West Indies cricket’s deep-rooted cultural and historical importance, highlighting its role as a unifying force and source of regional pride.
Using personal anecdotes and literary references, Shallow sought to connect cricket to the West Indian identity, emphasizing the challenges the sport faces today.
“Despite its past dominance, West Indies cricket struggles to maintain its global status, facing issues of insularity and nationalistic behaviors,” he said. He added that the symposium serves as a platform for acknowledging deficiencies and initiating change, viewing cricket as a metaphor for broader societal themes.
Shallow emphasized cricket’s cultural and historical importance in the Caribbean, describing it as a “unifying factor and a source of pride.” He shared his cricket-related stories, illustrating the sport’s impact on his life and the community in St. Vincent.
“But for these people in this small community, it was never about celebrating these individuals they know, but it was about celebrating West Indian people. And every time the West Indies team did well, as the Honorable Prime Minister said a while ago, you would almost feel that buzz. Everyone would walk with their chest a bit higher.”
His address connected cricket to West Indian identity, suggesting that the sport reflects and enhances regional solidarity and pride. For example, he referenced an essay by Dr. Alfonso Alonso on Caribbean civilization, which includes discussions on the political aspects of cricket.
But as he spoke of the current vulnerable state of West Indies cricket despite its past dominance and the challenges it faces in maintaining top world rankings,” Shallow also spoke of the insularity and nationalistic behaviors
He referred to the works of the late C.L.R. James and former Jamaican prime minister Michael Manley, who looked at issues like insularity and nationabehavibehaviors as part of the challenges.
“In fact, to the average fan, indeed the younger generation, our reality may even be perplexing, wondering, you know, what are we talking about? What great institution? If you’re only tuning in to West Indies cricket,
“Quite often, I hear the question, how can an institution that held such dominance once upon a time be so vulnerable now? And why have we dominated every single format of the game at some point, yet there are still struggles for us to be in the top five of the world ranking?”
Shallow said that to begin resolving the deficiencies and challenges documented in various texts, we need to accept and acknowledge them. While individual brilliance is notable, sustained success requires collective effort and an understanding of roles within the team.
He recalled the global community’s reactions to the West Indies team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup in recent years. He viewed the symposium “as a starting point for addressing and accepting the challenges faced by West Indies cricket.”
“So, to proceed with fixing or resolving our issues and challenges, we have to accept the deficiencies. Those diagnoses over the years in countless texts are so well documented and available to us that we must take what we need to fix.
“And I believe this symposium this morning is a starting point, of course, of accepting the challenges that we face, our shortfalls over the years, the countless suggestions made to us, including former heads of governments, but certainly cricket administrators, that these suggestions that have fallen deaf over the years must now be accepted.”
In her address to the opening ceremony, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said that cricket in the region is “more than bat and ball,” underscoring the importance of having the game played by both boys and girls at the highest level.
“I place that in context because we need to understand that the mission must be the nurturing of a DNA of excellence that is allowed to spread beyond the boundary into every aspect of our lives as Caribbean people to reflect on the fact that because politicians can’t do better, this is still the best example along with the University of the West Indies of Caribbean civilization and to accept the obligation that in an interdependent world we must create global citizens with Caribbean roots.
“It is the young people, and I’m happy that finally, it is not just boys but boys and girls who will become the men and women who can become these global citizens with Caribbean roots,” Mottley said, noting, “my heart filled with pride this week when Hayley Matthews was heralded by Wisden T20 Cricketer of the Year”.
But Mottley said that there has to be a developed ecosystem and recognition that a core part of the region’s development strategy must include opportunities for the region’s sportsmen, of whom “cricket is the one, along with team sport, that has most allowed us to learn to be accepted globally as a legitimate brand.
“Despite the ups and downs, the West Indies cricket brand is still strong, and what does that tell you about it? It is enduring, and we must level the field by the investments we have to make in this sport, recognizing that not all may make the team the right to wear that maroon, but all can participate at different levels to make a living….”
She said that this could be done by exporting persons to help in coaching across the world, supplying world-class and first-class umpires, and getting in the business of keeping the field, the outfield, and the pitches in good form or selling pitches to the United States instead of them buying from Australia.
Mottley said she has also indicated to the Barbados Cricket Association(BCA) that we were not only seeking to restore and to upgrade an iconic ground that has the distinction of hosting three will have the distinction of hosting three global finals “but there could be no investment that does not have in it the outfitting of an indoor facility with the highest and best technology available so that Barbadian boys and girls can benefit in the same way as any child in Australia or England or wherever else…”
In his virtual address, the CARICOM chairman and Guyana President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, emphasized the need for strategic planning and brand repositioning.
Discussing the rise of franchise cricket, economic factors influencing player decisions, and the importance of talent development, Ali highlighted strategies for revitalizing the cricket ecosystem through governance reforms, fan engagement, and cultural integration.
“Cricket is played in the hearts of our people. It is played to encourage positive living, and we have to look at the entire cricketing ecosystem to address the issues of cricket in the region.
“Cricket is linked directly to our economies and our tourism product, and we have to honestly analyze whether we have redefined our brand to incorporate all the factors that cricket is linked to in this region,” Ali said.
Ali said he had developed a comprehensive presentation in which he “sought to look at some threats and opportunities and for us to redefine the ecosystem of cricket in the West Indies.
“There are some critical questions that we must answer, and we must appreciate that cricket is no longer what it used to be. It is being heavily commercialized. It is moving towards the football model of franchising, and we have to match the dynamics of the changing market to our brand and safeguard the fundamentals of what cricket means to us as a region. We have to redefine this brand and ask some very crucial questions.
“What are we known for? What is our brand? How do we recreate ourselves? Who owns the brand? In redefining the brand, we have to work on how to protect it, expand it, position it, and create global ownership.
These are fundamental questions that we will have to answer. This conference, this symposium, allows us to discuss what the brand should look like and who should promote it.”
The CARICOM chairman said, “We have some low-hanging fruits in our legends and how this brand should be positioned.
“The truth be told, the global cricket system conspired against us in their rules and regulations. We were known for fearsome fast bowling, real fast bowling, and then the system was changed.”
Ali recalled that the rules were changed to “deny us of this brand of our cricket, and we allowed the regulations to change without much protest.
“We bring excitement to this region with our fast bowling and attacking stroke play. We don’t need to change this. We need to master it. We need to grow it.
“We need to expand this as our brand. And then, beyond the bunk, there are some important things that we have to look at: our vibes, our culture, our entertainment, our food, our tourism, our markets, our merchandising, integrating other sports with societal integration, positive living, and community orientation.”
Ali said that all of these factors are beyond the boundary and must be integrated into this cricketing plan that we must develop.
“When you look at West Indies fans and West Indies cricketing environment in the stands, you must not see sea drinking and clapping. You must see a different vibe and energy; Ali said that the symposium could not end without discussing the threats to West Indies cricket, noting that the threats with the growing North American cricket can bring in more fans and revenue.
“I believe that we need to examine whether we need to move West Indies cricket from the West Indies cricket board to the American cricket board. We have to now work towards owning cricket in America.
“And how do we develop a strategy where West Indies cricket becomes the owner of cricket within the Americas? These are things that I think we have to address,” Ali added.
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