The Cricket West Indies (CWI) CG United Super 50 Cup ended on November 23 in the most ludicrous of circumstances, as the competition concluded without a winner. Two weeks later, we still don’t have a winner.
A tournament that started on October 29 and reached the semi-finals on November 20 and 21 ended in total controversy. What a pity! One wonders how such a debacle could transpire in the face of experienced administrators and seasoned cricket minds in a final in front of the entire world. Surely, persons with some type of reasoning could have sat down and said, “Come on, how can we solve this?” But I will come back to the final.
Naturally, as the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force did not qualify for the finals, there are those who have started to throw their big rocks, predictably behind Red Force coach David Furlonge. I suppose that is the Trinbagonian mentality, as nothing was being said when the team was doing well and they finished on top of the preliminary round. This is a familiar pattern, where success is met with silence and failure with vitriol. I wonder if the critics were aware that apart from two games in the preliminary rounds, coach Furlonge was ill and the squad was put through their paces and the rest of the games were managed by assistant coach Rayad Emrit.
Coach Furlonge is even being called a failure, but this is a man who, since he was appointed head coach of the T&T Red Force in 2019, has won two Super 50 titles in the last four tournaments (the last time the Red Force won the title before Coach Furlonge was 2015). Before that, since 2010, Furlonge won 18 titles in the Premiership Division across various formats (League, 50 Over, and T20) and 24 Divisional Titles at club level. Indeed, what a clueless man he must be.
Speaking of the Premiership Division, the recent decision of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) to expand the local league from eight teams to ten teams, with matches reduced from three days to two days, raises serious questions about TTCB’s vision for the future of red-ball cricket in T&T.
What is disheartening is you now have matches being played over two days, which is now the longest format of the game being played at the highest level in T&T. I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry, but the team is currently preparing for the West Indies Four-Day Championships, and all of the country’s players will be playing two-day cricket. The team has no chance of winning the tournament. I’m not sure who the TTCB has appointed as coach, but if Bishop Berkley is available, he should be contacted because the team would need divine intervention.
It would be nothing short of a miracle if the Red Force were to finish in the top four. The red ball version of cricket in T&T continues to sink. The dilution of talent (with now 150 players in the Premiership Division) and the neglect of red-ball cricket are clear and present dangers. Such short-sighted decisions threaten to undermine the long-term health of the sport, both locally and regionally.
Returning to the Super 50 Cup Finals, it is shameful that at the end of the tournament, we could not have come to a proper conclusion. I understand the teams were told at 5.45 pm that play would start at 6.15 pm, as the cut-off time for the game was 6.17 pm. The captains were told they should take the toss by 6 pm, as the game would be reduced to 20 overs. Again, my understanding was that the teams felt that conditions were dangerous and the ground was not fit for play. Surely all of this must have been discussed with the match referee and the umpires.
Back in the day, when an umpire said the game was on, you found your whites and took the field, regardless of the conditions or hazards. However, this approach has led to accidents and injuries occurring where games have been played in dangerous conditions, and we have learnt from the mistakes of the past. In the modern game, the players have much more of a say when it comes to their safety, and 9 times out of 10, the umpires would leave the decision to the captains when conditions are dangerous. I guess this was the 10th time the teams were ordered to play, even though they were concerned about their safety.
Unsurprisingly, when the toss was to be taken at 6 pm, neither the Bajan captain, Raymond Reifer, nor the Jamaican captain, John Campbell, were present. In the absence of the possibility of postponing the match to a later date and/or venue, I would have thought the easiest position at that time would be to declare both teams as joint winners. But again, logic has been abandoned, and CWI has decided that both Reifer and Campbell must pay the price for their defiance and concern for their and their players’ safety, and they were immediately sanctioned by CWI. Reon King, a former West Indies fast bowler who acted as match referee, charged both captains with a level 3 breach of the CWI code of conduct.
Both Reifer and Campbell could now be facing lengthy suspensions for their roles after their teams failed to take the field in the Super 50 Final. A report stated both could be suspended for up to eight months after they failed to be present for the coin toss, but my question is, what about the coaches, managers, etc.?
Surely the decision would not have been made arbitrarily by these two gentlemen, as they would have been in discussions with all the players and technical staff. Player safety is paramount, and the subsequent sanctions imposed on the captains seem somewhat disproportionate, given the extenuating circumstances. But CWI has to flex its muscles.
Again I thought some practical discussions would have taken place, and ultimately, if the teams did not want to play, why force it? Was it a question that the final had to be played no matter what? Was it a question that the sponsors needed to have the final played even though the players did not want to play? Was it more important to have a final on paper or to ensure that the game was played under safe conditions? It seems the powers that be were more concerned about appeasing sponsors and maintaining a semblance of order than prioritising the well-being of the players. The captains’ defiance, while perhaps excessive, was a desperate plea for reason.
It’s a shame that in 2024, players are still expected to toe the line, regardless of the circumstances. However, the players, and in particular the captains, cannot be defiant; if the officials say play, you play. I thought the days for that approach were past us, but it appears they haven’t been, and if the players don’t listen, they must be prepared to face the consequences.
Such a pity! Let us wait and see how this turns out, as it appears that CWI is not going to back down, and the captains will have to pay the price for their refusal to take the field.
I wanted to finish on the three Test matches taking place now: Australia vs India, New Zealand vs England, and West Indies vs Bangladesh, but we will get into those series in my next column as they all promise to be interesting for different reasons.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in the preceding article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organisation in which he is a stakeholder.
