MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has taken aim at the West Indies Cricket Board, accusing them of failing to properly develop the game in the Caribbean.
The former one-day captain described the state of affairs in West Indies cricket as “painful” and said the board needed to bear the brunt of responsibility for the decline.
“Times change and I think that is one of our problems, we tend to hold on too much to the past and not focus on the future.
That has been our downfall,” Bravo said here as he prepared for his Big Bash League campaign with Melbourne Renegades.
“Those in charge have to look into themselves. We don’t have proper grounds, proper nets or a proper academy. All these things are a part of our downfall.
“The relationship between players, board members and management staff – it needs to get stronger and tighter. They (the board) need to have a lot more honesty.”
Bravo was at the centre of a stand-off involving the WICB last year, when he spearheaded the players fight in a pay dispute over a revised Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The impasse led to the players walking off the tour of India, a move that sparked renewed conflict with the WICB and the players’ union, WIPA.
Bravo, who was subsequently axed as one-day captain and sacked from the team, said it was up to the board to make the necessary changes.
“It’s for everyone to be committed and for the people who run the cricket to actually want a change and want a big difference,” he contended.
“It’s painful to see this is the state our cricket has reached. At one point in time we were the best team in the world.
“If those in charge keep harping on the past and not trying to do anything for the future, for the present, we’ll always have these kinds of interviews.”
He continued: “We’ll always have back and forth with ex-players saying this and present players saying that.
The rest of the world will go on and we’ll always be backwards.”
