“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” – Ephesians 4:29

 

Just over a week ago, a democratic process was followed according to the constitution of Cricket West Indies (CWI). We now have new leadership to shepherd the CWI stakeholders as the journey continues to restore the WINDIES to a position of global supremacy which we once held in 1984. The WINDIES were then undisputed world champions of all forms of the game.

 

I would say that all CWI stakeholders share the same Vision: “West Indies cricket is the heartbeat of the Caribbean, loved by the world”; and Mission (the beacon which guides CWI’s day to day activities): “To lead, inspire and unite cricket in the West Indies from thriving grassroots to exciting WINDIES teams, ensuring sustainable success.”

 

The new leadership has proposed a 10-point plan against which their stewardship will be measured and assessed. Fortunately, the new leadership is inheriting strengths on which to build and have access to opportunities of which they must take advantage.

 

The challenge will be to garner the confidence of all stakeholders to strengthen the weaknesses and avoid existing and future threats. This must be addressed by ensuring that the communication channels between CWI and its stakeholders are clearly defined and free from noise.

 

May I draw to your attention a West Indies cricket press statement delivered on March 22, 2019 by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI).

 

Sir Hilary, the Director of the UWI Cricket Research Centre, former WICB Director and the founder of the SAGICOR WICB UWI Cricket Academy, proposes his 10 points to which the new CWI leadership should commit themselves. UWI and CWI are the two regional institutions which best serve the natural interests of the Caribbean people. They should share their experiences.

 

The CWI stakeholder channels are: (1) Governance – the President and Board Members – responsible and accountable to the people of the Caribbean for the sustainability of West Indies cricket; (2) Investment Funding – Governments and Sponsors – custodians of tax revenue to provide services to Caribbean people and a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable to the public; (3) Marketing – Public Relations and Media Relations Specialists – expertise is mandatory for an excellent communication process in terms of designing the content and having access to the channels for the optimum flow of information; (4) Performance (On/Off field) – Players, Coaches, Umpires, Curators (On) and Management (Off) – players and supporting services make success happen on match day and management engenders business success; (5) Training and Motivation – High Performance Centre Specialists, UWI and Legends – in combination, develop the whole individual.

 

The foundation of the strategic and operational planning process is in place and it now remains for the new leadership to build on our strengths, strengthen our weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities and avoid threats.

 

 

Growth and sustainability emerge from excellent governance, timely and adequate funding, awareness and global acceptance of our brand, brilliant performance and highly trained and motivated players. Therein lies the challenge.

 

Democracy at CWI is alive and well and new leadership has been smoothly installed to govern the continued development of WINDIES cricket towards rebuilding our brand to the status when the WINDIES led the world in all forms of the game.

 

The new management must aim to ensure that the dashboards of all stakeholders are continuously flashing green, which is a manifestation that the communication process is alive and well.