Trinidad chief favours severing ties with WICB
‘We might compete as a separate entity as we do in football’
West Indies cricket, which has united the islands of the Caribbean for over a century, could be split if the chief of Trinidad and Tobago's cricket body follows through his idea of competing as independent nation.
In an interview published on Tuesday, Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) chief executive Forbes Persaud said leading figures in the country's cricket body were considering breaking away from the West Indies regional team. West Indies cricket is in crisis after leading players refused to play in the home series against Bangladesh due to contractual disputes with the regional board, and the tourists took advantage by winning both Tests against a weakened team.
"My personal view (is) if the trend continues with the manner in which West Indies cricket is being administered, the board (TTCB) should go on its own and compete as Trinidad and Tobago, just as is in football," he told the Trinidad and Tobago Express.
"If something is not done to have cricket administration at the West Indies level properly restructured, I believe we will have no choice but to think about playing as an individual territory on the international scene."
Cricket is the only sport in which the former British colonies still compete as one unit -- all the Caribbean nations play soccer and compete in the Olympics independently.
Persaud said that his view on a split was a personal one and there had not been formal discussions at board level -- but other members shared his view.
"There are some board members who believe that we should start thinking about going on our own but, this has not been discussed in any official forum. It's just people expressing their views informally."
Asked if such views were growing, Persaud responded: "Yes. Because of the present situation in West Indies cricket, people are becoming very disenchanted and they have been expressing their views along these lines."
"We all know how critical West Indies cricket is as a unifying force, to go that way would be destroying a legacy. It is not going to be an easy decision to make, if at all there is going to be a formal discussion on this." he added.
WICT squad announced
In a surprising move, West Indies named Fidel Edwards and Darren Powell, both boycotting national duty owing to a contract dispute, in its 30-member provisional squad for the Champions Trophy to be held in South Africa from September 22 to October 5.
While the second string squad, which lost the Test series at home against Bangladesh, forms the core of the Champions Trophy team, Edwards and Powell are surprise inclusions since they had joined Chris Gayle and other frontline players who boycotted the series against Bangladesh.
The West Indies will be in Group A along with Pakistan, India and Australia.
The WICB also said it would soon start distributing money it owes to the players but ruled out a renogotiation.
Squad: Ryan Austin, Christopher Barnwell, David Bernard, Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Romel Currency, Travis Dowlin, Fidel Edwards, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Ryan Hinds, Leon Johnson, Anthony Martin, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Nelon Pascal, Brenton Parchment, Omar Phillips, Daren Powell, Kieran Powell, Floyd Reifer, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Kevin Stoute, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton.’
