[Reader-list] Dissidence in Cricket
Jeebesh
jeebesh at sarai.net
Sat Jul 9 15:18:11 IST 2011
dear all,
since cricket is big showbiz and passion here, it will be worthwhile
to hear top grade cricketers discomfort with the management of the
game. this should be seen as an emergent dissidence culture in sports.
here it is not about winning and losing. it is about the very core of
why play.
warmly
jeebesh
Sangakkara's interview : http://www.thehindu.com/sport/article2161791.ece
(The canny wicket keeper, calm batsman and Captain of Sri Lanka till
World Cup 2011)
--------------------------------------------------------------
(Flamboyant and mercurial Gayle)
I, Christopher Henry Gayle, am making this statement so that all my
friends, fans and followers who continue to wonder why I am not being
picked for the West Indies team despite being fit, available and in
form will know the truth considering the many rumours and statements
that have been made as it relates to this issue. Until now, I have
kept my silence, but I believe that the time has come for you to all
know what I plan to do about this extremely frustrating and
humiliating situation.
Ever since I was a little boy growing up in Rollington Town, and
living in the shadow of Sabina Park I had two dreams. The first was to
play for Jamaica and the second to play for the West Indies.
Fortunately, and thanks to the Almighty, I have been able to achieve
both of them. I have been Captain of both Jamaica and of the West
Indies, and have worn both uniforms with pride and served with
distinction.
I find it really painful now to hear that I did not give my best or
that I lost my commitment to the cause of West Indies Cricket. This is
not true. I have always given my all. I have always played with my
heart and soul. I am not a boastful person. I normally don't speak
until I have to. I try not to show in my face what is in my heart but
now my heart is heavy. I have played with injuries. I have played with
pain. But nothing in my life has been more painful and more injurious
to my spirit than what has been done to me in the past few months.
Nothing.
I want to take you back to September 2009 when Ernest Hilaire who was
not yet the CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board cast doubts on my
being retained as the West Indies Captain despite my performance in
that role. I thought that what I was seeing was a statement made in
error. I did not know at the time that what I was seeing was the
writing on the wall and what was being written about me was not
pleasant or true.
Ernest Hilaire acted quickly. At a meeting of the WICB held in October
2009, as soon as he took up office, the Board questioned the
recommendation of the selectors that I should be Captain of the team
to tour Australia. Eight members voted for me and five members of the
Board voted against me. Clive Lloyd, who had praised me highly before
was one of them who did not want me as Captain. He never said anything
to me about why he was no longer on my side. Joel Garner who was the
Manager of the West Indies team and who worked with me closely on the
Stanford game which we won voted against my being Captain of the West
Indies. Conde Riley from Barbados voted against me. Most surprising is
the man who said publicly that he always supported me as Captain.
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles voted against me so when he says that he
pushed for me to be Captain you have to decide whether to believe
Beckles or the Minutes of the Meeting. Gregory Shillingford of the
Leeward Islands voted against me. The Board decided to appoint a
Committee to meet with me and it should be no surprise that among the
members of that Committee were Messrs. Lloyd, Garner and Beckles.
Looking back, I now realise that I have been put in a no-win situation
since 2009.
I found out how bad things were when the WICB held a meeting in St
Lucia in July last year. I saw the Minutes of the Meeting later. In
reporting on why he thought that the West Indies had not done well in
the T20 World Cup, the Coach, Otis Gibson, said "the Captain was not a
natural leader" and that "Senior players and some others lack a
passion for the game." He also said that "there was no evidence of
leadership qualities among the senior players" and that the "Captain
is not a student of the game and lacks tactical awareness on the field."
The sad and horrible thing is that Gibson never said anything to me
about how he felt about me before or after his report. He is a man who
sought my advice when things were not going well. Before he became the
West Indies Coach he used to call me often. I could never imagine that
he would deliberately try to destroy my character, reputation and
livelihood or question my commitment to West Indies cricket. I would
not have believed, until I saw it in black and white, that he would
devalue my leadership and try to destroy me without giving me a chance
to respond. The WICB should have invited me to that meeting to face my
accuser and, as Captain, to give my views about why we did not do
well. What also hurts me is that there are three members of the
Jamaica Cricket Association who are on the WICB and none of them told
their colleagues on the Board, "Wait. We believe that Chris should be
allowed to defend himself" or even "We need to hear from the Captain."
None of them.
Coach Gibson recommended to the Board that they should "select the
team on character" which means that by leaving me out the WICB,
including the Jamaican Directors, feels that I have no character.
In October I was sacked as Captain and still have no idea why. I did
not protest since the Captaincy is not a right. It is a duty. I went
on the Sri Lanka tour having recommitted myself to West Indies Cricket
and giving the new Captain the assurance that I would support him. I
played the best test innings of my life in the first test and
contributed 333 runs out of a team total of 580 in that match. Nobody
questioned my commitment then.
It was after the World Cup when the Board was looking for people to
blame for the poor performance of the team that they picked on me and
the other senior players. This time it was not the Captaincy that was
the issue but the senior players. Gibson said we lacked the hunger and
the desire to succeed. Would I be where I am today as a cricketer if I
lacked the desire and hunger to succeed? It was the easy way out.
There are people who will constantly refuse to look deeply into
themselves and question their own actions and motives while there are
others to blame. I was an easy target and my 333 was forgotten, and
all my years of blood, sweat and toil for the West Indies cause was
abruptly cast aside.
I played with an injury during the World Cup and returned to Jamaica
to get myself in shape for the Home Series against Pakistan. A camp
was set up and nobody contacted me. I was ignored. The squad was
picked for the first two ODIs. I was again ignored and saw in the
newspapers that I was omitted. I read the comments of the WICB CEO
Ernest Hilaire who said that we, the senior players, thought we were
bigger than the team and all we wanted was money. I then got an offer
to play in India and went when the WICB made is publicly clear in its
release to the media that Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Gayle was not
considered for selection. I did not turn my back on the West Indies
because the West Indies had already turned its back on me. I was not
in the squad and it was clear that there was no intention to pick me.
I was being punished for the failure of an entire team and also of the
administration.
What I did in India for the Bangalore Royal Challengers is history.
The management and fans of the team treated me with respect and
showered me with love and support. I did respond to the accusation
made by the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire that implied that I lacked
commitment to West Indies Cricket. I reminded him that I had to pay my
own medical bills, which I hoped to be reimbursed at some stage. The
feeling by some people is that I started the whole thing. I did not.
What I have shown you is that there is a pattern in the attempt to
paint me into a corner and destroy my career and reputation. There was
a pattern to marginalising me. Yes, there was a pattern and what came
next was the proof.
The proof came in a speech made by a Director of the WICB, Hilary
Beckles, who had opposed my captaincy in 2009 despite his claims that
he supported me. Beckles compared me to a "Don" and my captaincy as
"Donmanship". He likened me, Chris Gayle, to the notorious criminal
and alleged drug dealer Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Beckles says his
second home is Jamaica so he knows the implications of what he said
but in an effort to avoid the consequences, he says he was talking in
a private capacity and not as a Director of the WICB. The other
Directors, especially the three from Jamaica who are on the WICB, did
not say anything or do anything to clear my name or to get answers
from the WICB. They could have requested an emergency meeting of the
WICB to ask why I was omitted and targeted but they did not. They left
me hanging out on a branch and were, at the same time, helping to cut
that branch.
I want to tell you that I am not going to hide and say that this
statement is in any other capacity. I am Christopher Henry Gayle and I
stand by what I say. I am a professional cricketer and the former
Captain of Jamaica and the West Indies. This is my capacity. This is
my job. This is my livelihood and this is my life.
I was not surprised when the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire sent me a letter
on June 2, 2011 in which they accused me of a number of incidents
including "making myself unavailable for the home series against
Pakistan, my interview on KLAS radio in Jamaica and several "tweets‟
which have suggested a general disenchantment on your part with West
Indies cricket and the West Indies Cricket Board." He said that the
Board wanted to make my considerable talent available to the West
Indies and international cricket.
I took the Board seriously and went to the meeting which was held in
Jamaica a few weeks ago. The meeting ended without any commitment with
regard to my future selection for the West Indies team again. I
thought that was the purpose of the meeting and was foolish enough to
believe that it would end with a decision about when I would be back
on the team. Instead I have read about an incident between the
President of WIPA Dinanath Ramnarine and the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire
that makes me question whether I was at the same meeting. Ramnarine
was not the only person to lose his cool in that room and I can
understand if someone falsely accuses you of attempting to siphon
funds into some account that you will be understandably upset. The
accusations made by the WICB are not true. I can say without fear of
contradiction, and what I am saying has been supported by other people
who were present at that meeting, that there was no picking up of any
chair and Ramnarine never threatened Ernest Hilaire. It is unfortunate
that Ramnarine is being accused of not representing my best interest
at that meeting, a view I strongly disagree with. It was also reported
that in some quarters that Ramnarine was responsible for the breakdown
of the meeting, a view I strongly disagree with also since the meeting
went on for more than one hour after certain accusations were made by
the CEO WICB Ernest Hilaire at the meeting. But that was not why we
were there and what we went there for was never accomplished. When I
saw the misleading reports coming out I realised that I was being used
to cast blame on someone else and the meeting had other motives than
my reinstatement. In other words it was a diversion of the real issue
and the outcome of the meeting was clearly predetermined.
I was again put on hold. My career was put on hold. My future was put
on hold. My life was put on hold. Ernest Hilaire said he could not do
anything until he had spoken to the Board, the selection committee,
the management and, although he didn't say it out loud, the media.
I believe now it was deliberately staged to give the impression that
the Board wanted me back and that the intention was always to string
me along and to fool the people of the West Indies.
I made it clear that I was still willing to meet with the Board to
resolve the issues. On June 22, I wrote to WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire who
had sent me an email the day before saying that I would also like to
resolve the issue, and while I am willing to meet I would like to ask
what it is you would like me to do? I told him that I have not
received any guidance, other than what has appeared in the media, as
to what it is that needs to be done for me to be included in the West
Indies team. I said that I am putting in writing the willingness to
meet with you as soon as possible. I also said that time has been
wasted and it would seem that the delays will ensure I am unable to
play for the entire home series. I pointed out to him that a meeting
was not requested until the India series had almost begun, and the
meeting was then delayed until after the Test Team for the 1st match
was chosen and it has taken over a week for this meeting request to be
sent.
The WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire wrote me back on June 24th complaining
about my antagonistic approach and the tone of my email. He said that
the issue is more than my radio interview but is about a history of
misunderstanding, miscommunication and mishandling of issues, on both
sides. It cannot be easily swept under the carpet with the hope that
it goes away. He said that I would have to meet with the team
management and after that with the selectors and after that with the
cricket operations department and only then he would meet with me
before he could send a report to the Board. He said he would not be
available to meet with me until August. This means that I will
definitely not be playing against India and that I will be cooling my
heels until after August- more than two months away and even then my
matter would go to the Board if the WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire believes
we have a final and agreed position.
I was glad that the Board admitted its own guilt in the situation and
despite the fact that there seemed to be no end to this, I then met in
yet another meeting with the Coach and the Team Manager on June 24th
2011 in Jamaica. I tried my best to compromise with the two
representatives of the Board. Still, despite this meeting and the fact
that both sides agreed that significant progress had been made, I am
still on hold. My career is at a standstill. My hopes of representing
my country at home in the West Indies have been destroyed. My
contribution has been devalued and the fans of the West Indies who
believe I can make a difference have had their hopes dashed. After the
conclusion of this second meeting, my suspicions were confirmed and it
was now beyond doubt that there was never any real intention of
resolving any issues concerning me at the first meeting. The WICB CEO
Ernest Hilaire's letter of June 24th 2011 also confirmed this as well.
I have now reached the stage where I have to say that enough is
enough. I understand that the WICB and the Jamaica Board met and my
matter was discussed but nobody has told me anything and I can only
assume without any positive feedback there has been no resolution. I
played cricket for Jamaica and served the Board well. I would have
thought that from the beginning of this whole attempt to discredit me
that the Board would have done or said something on my behalf. I don't
want them to cover up for me but at least to ensure that I received
natural justice and was able to respond to my accusers. They have all
been silent. The three members on the WICB Board have not asked for an
emergency meeting, as they have the right and power to do, so that we
can get everything cleared up. Instead they leave me out here to
dangle in the wind.
There is a disciplinary process in West Indies Cricket. Yet the Board
is allowed to be the complainant as well as policeman, judge, jury and
executioner in my case. When I tried to respond to the accusations
made against me, I am deemed to be out of place and trying to destroy
West Indies cricket.
I am now coming close to the end of my shelf-life as a cricketer.
While other professionals can plan on a career from the time they
graduate from University to when they retire in their sixties, most
cricketers have an average of eight years - between 24 and 32 - to
earn enough money for the rest of our lives. Some are lucky to be
coaches or commentators. I have no such option at this stage and must
concentrate on providing for my family now and in the future.
On this basis, and not hearing from the West Indies Cricket Board with
any clear pathway forward, I have come to the bitter realisation that
I am not wanted by the Board and all that has gone before in terms of
reconciliation is a sham and a mockery. I see it as a scam to fool the
people of the West Indies and the world into believing that they were
serious about my returning to West Indies cricket.
My eyes are open, my heart is clean, my conscience is clear and the
voice of reason is loud in my ears telling me that I should close this
chapter in my life. I am not going to be the WICB's whipping boy. They
have said they will root me out and they have succeeded in doing so by
using the sort of underhanded tactics while attempting to ascribe
blame to other people for what is clear is a well planned set of action.
We as West Indies players are admired throughout the world for our
honesty and sportsmanship. Yet the custodians of West Indies cricket,
the people who are responsible for the development of our heritage
sport, have not dealt with us honestly.
It is against this background that I have now decided not to wait on
the WICB any longer but while I still have the time and the skills to
explore the opportunities available to me elsewhere. I do it
reluctantly but have no choice. I have people to take care of and
cannot sit for months waiting on WICB CEO Ernest Hilaire and the Board.
Despite all that has happened I am still hopeful that good sense will
prevail and I would once again represent my country and my region in
near the future. I wish to make it abundantly clear that I have not
yet retired from any form of the game and remain available for
selection for both Jamaica and West Indies. However, this is entirely
out of my hands.
As for the Jamaica Cricket Association they have let me down badly
even though I did meet with the new President of the JCA, Mr. Wright
and Mr. Hinds but nothing has been done.
I want to say to my colleagues on the team, that I have opened the
batting for the West Indies against some of the fiercest fast bowlers
in the world bowling at almost 100 miles per hour. I have stood up to
them as I am standing up for what I believe is right. I want to tell
them that if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
I appeal to the Heads of Government of CARICOM to do something about
this situation. West Indies Cricket is different from the West Indies
Cricket Board. West Indies Cricket and West Indies Cricketers need
help. Since you are the people who represent the fans and all the
other stakeholders, it is time for you to act.
Finally, I want to thank you all for your support and look forward to
your continuing that support in future as I follow the path that the
Almighty has mapped out for me. I place my trust in God and believe
that if your heart is pure and you have faith in Him, you will always
triumph against oppression and adversity. When one path is closed,
there is another path opened for the righteous and pure in spirit. I
now set out on that path with confidence, safe in the assurance that I
will succeed.
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