PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Cricket West Indies presidential candidate, Ricky Skerritt, wants to see increased trust and respect in the relationship between players and the governing board.
Skerritt, who is challenging the incumbent Dave Cameron for the top spot at the May 24 elections, said players openly questioning the board on matters needed not be interpreted as rebellion.
“What we must not do is assume that because a player queries a contract or a player seeks better incomes and other benefits, that player suddenly becomes any enemy of the board,” the Newsday quoted Skerritt as saying.
“We need to develop trust, we need to show by our actions and by our decisions that we are concerned about the well-being of players as well as the well-being of cricket and where we need to do awareness building and education with players.”
Player relations with the board have been strained at points throughout Cameron’s tenure. In 2014, the Windies abruptly quit the one-day tour of India over a pay dispute, which led to the cancellation of the subsequent Test series.
Two years later, the buildup to the Twenty20 World Cup in India was plagued with a bitter contract squabble between the board and players, leading then captain Darren Sammy to speak about “disrespect … from our own cricket board”.
Skerritt, a former West Indies manager, said he had spoken to one player who believed he had been blacklisted by the current administration.
“Now if he is mistaken, just the fact that he has that perception is scary,” Skerritt pointed out.
“Presidents and vice-presidents and other administrators should not be scaring players. We don’t have to agree with some of the thoughts that players have and vice versa, but there should be no fear, there should be mutual respect.”
Skerritt is seeking to topple Cameron who is bidding for his fourth straight term in charge of the CWI. The former St Kitts and Nevis Cabinet minister has as his running mate, Dr Kishore Shallow, the president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association.
Cameron, meanwhile, will be partnered by current CWI vice-president, Emmanuel Nanthan.
