Sadly the cricket that is not currently being played in India will prove much more significant than anything occurring between Pakistan and Australia in the UAE.
The decision by the West Indies squad to withdraw midway through their tour of India due to a pay dispute has shocked the cricket world.
Specifically, it has frustrated the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) creating huge implications to the international game. The BCCI’s recent decision to pursue US$42m in damages from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the lost matches highlights the increasing disparity between the ‘Big Three’ of India, Australia and England – and the rest of the cricket playing world.
Given the obscene amount of money and commercialisation in the game today, how can it be that the WICB, one of just ten full International Cricket Council (ICC) members, and historically one of the most popular and successful teams around the world, has annual revenues of less than US$30m – roughly equivalent to the North Melbourne Football Club?
KPMG’s audit report of WICB for 2013 states “…the company incurred a net loss of US$5,821,413 (2012: $14,873,774) during the year ended September 30 2013 and as at that date, it had shareholders deficiency of US$5,693,323. These factors raise substantial doubt that the company will be able to continue as a going concern.”
The senior West Indies squad are rightly upset that their pay has been substantially slashed although it is interesting to note the West Indies A team continued their Sri Lankan tour.
Historically many players on the fringe of the West Indies team have either been lost to the game, forced to play club cricket abroad or even tour Apartheid-era South Africa in order to make a living.
In an admirable and long overdue attempt to revive the game in the region, the WICB in conjunction with the West Indies Player’s Association (WIPA) are attempting to professionalise the game at the domestic level by offering relatively modest but more secure contracts for their 80-90 domestic players – with most salaries expected to range from US$34,000 to $54,000.
An extra million or two swiftly distributed from either BCCI or the ICC (now significantly controlled by the big three) could have easily avoided this strike.
Inept and greedy leadership by both has contributed to this current fiasco. The BCCI has now lost more than US$40m in revenues and then in an hilariously futile move, tried to hold their financially crippled opponent – who could only dream of a share of this income – responsible. BCCI have now also suspended bi-lateral cricketing relations with the WICB.
For the senior West Indies squad, led by Dwayne Bravo, perhaps some patience was required to see if their view was shared by the majority of the membership of the WIPA and if so, to go through the process of electing new WIPA leadership.
WIPA President and CEO Wavell Hinds has so far been immovable, probably confident he has the majority of membership on his side. Both the WICB and WIPA have however showed a terrible lack of urgency and communication. My suspicion is that WICB are resigned to the fact that they will struggle to negotiate further as there is literally no more money.
West Indies future in international cricket is now in serious doubt. To remain competitive surely the region that has produced names like Headley, Sobers, Richards, Marshall, Ambrose, Lara and Chanderpaul and thrilled millions of fans around the world deserves a fairer distribution of revenues despite its own relatively small population.
The ICC is not only failing to invest seriously for the future in new markets, it gives scant support even to existing struggling members and it seems international cricket is increasingly revolving around the short term interests of the big three.
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