- July 17, 2025
Can you fathom an occasion when you lost so badly at a game, it seems you will never live it down? And maybe not for a good reason? That was exactly the case when the West Indies fell apart for a miserable 27 all out – a scorecard that doesn’t just sting, it will have your name written in the hall of shame of Test cricket. But to be fair, as shocking as that scorecard was, it wasn’t even the most tragic element. The most tragic element? Those being paid to care didn’t seem to care. No one resigned, no one had the grace to do anything.
When Failure Is Rewarded, Not Punished
In most jobs, when you fail, there are consequences. You don’t hit your targets; you’re out the door. But in Caribbean cricket administration? It’s a job for life. Lose by an innings? Not a problem. Embarrass the region on a global scale? Here, I have a Starbucks gift card. This is the weird world we are stuck in – where the cricket boards operate like untouchable kingdoms, filled with entitlement, but devoid of accountability.
Many board members have no background in cricket or even sport governance. There are boards of around 50 members, where you could spend all day looking for ex-cricketers on the board and still not find one. Challenge the system, and you’ll end up on a black list faster than a bent umpire.
In the meantime, fans have given up hope. Stadiums are only half-full, and the once-boisterous Caribbean atmosphere has gone silent. People have simply stopped believing anything will change when the same person continues to lead the same people, regardless of losses.
A System Built to Fail
Let’s not fool ourselves — this isn’t one misconceived series or a bad couple of months. This is a generational decay. We throw players onto the international stage unprepared because our grassroots systems are nonexistent. By the time players wear the maroon cap, they’re learning their trade on the job, which is a guaranteed recipe for disaster when we play teams like Australia or India, who have spent decades ensuring their player pathways are sound.
And when the discussion turns to solutions, it stalls. The default defense? “Political interference!” Governments or external parties can’t even try to intervene before boards shout foul, forgetting entirely that they are already using taxpayer dollars to fight lawsuits or shut down dissenters.
Sponsors, even the ones with the most influence to demand better governance, mostly ignore the mess — unless an independent audit forces their hand. In that case, they quietly drop out and support the circus somewhere else. Enablers like governments, sponsors, and regional elites share culpability with those driving the ship onto the rocks.
The Darren Sammy Distraction
Recently, Darren Sammy, the West Indies’ head coach, has been scapegoated as if his methods could fix decades of dysfunction. Coaching is not unimportant, but any coach is limited when a broken system is sending the players to the top.
He had a team without a foundation to be effective in the toughest format of the game, Test cricket. The start of the problem comes from the Territorial Boards, which handle the responsibility for player development, where the system is completely dysfunctional.
What’s needed is not just an overhaul of the coaching, but of the governance of cricket. Not just recalling Sammy (or any player) serves no purpose other than creating a distraction from the deeper rot until the governance of cricket is remade with a root and branch stance and all policies included that endorse transparency, independent supervision, and an emphasis on meritocratic advancement, the status quo will remain endless.
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