The power of hope...

Hope is a beautiful thing in sport. It's the light at the end of a long and despairing tunnel. It's the reason Tatenda Taibu dons his Zimbabwe colors despite yet another politician crying out for his country's ban. It's the reason Dav Whatmore gets up in the morning and goes to work despite yet another walloping. It's the reason Saurav Ganguly fights for yet another youngster despite his own place in the team being doubtful...and its the reason why the cricket fan in Trinidad pays his hard-earned cash and dances to yet another calypso rythm while he watches a game Brian Lara decided not to play because WICB and Digicel hurt his ego.

As WICB, WIPA, Digicel and Cable & Wireless square up for their latest showdown, you wonder if they actually care about the cricketers who sacrifice education, time with their loved ones and strive hard to become one of the best 11 in their country. You wonder if they actually care about cricket fans who bring their kids who might one day become cricketers. When the future of a game hangs by the decision on a disputed contract clause, it becomes a situation worse than fixing the outcome of a match. Fazeer Mohammed in an excellent article on Cricinfo outlines the state of bemusement and chaos that exists in the Windies right now. Here is an excerpt from that article.

"(Roger) Brathwaite maintains that the Board can afford no more, particularly with a tour of Australia still to come in November. It seems to be a reasonable, bottom-line-based position, given that by September, the WICB is forecasting an overall debt position in excess of US$14 million..."

If that is the case why would the board not be more open and forthright in their stand? And why would they resort to such underhanded techniques like trying to recruit the 'A' team players while negotiationg with the WIPA? Here's another excerpt,

"And what of WIPA? Hasn't the same public clamoured for their heroes to stand up to the Board and tell them where to get off, to demand what is rightfully theirs as the true flag-bearers of West Indies Cricket? That is precisely what Dinanath Ramnarine is trying to do. Maybe he is indulging too much in the telling off department and not stressing the rightfully theirs bit enough..."

Player representation is now pretty common in most cricket playing countries. But in these countries their primary goal is to create (or attempt to create) a good working relationship between the players and the board. Isn't that how a good organization works? It is hard to believe that Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle who have potentially more than a decade of cricket left in them, would never regret skipping the flight to Sri Lanka. A professional thrives on challenges, and performing against a team thas has hardly lost anything at home would be a true test of their skills. And what would it do to players like Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass and Narasingh Deonarine when they are discarded when Lara and co. do decide to return? Doesn't WIPA represent the interests of these players too?

So, do I think West Indies can win a match in Sri Lanka? Well, the Natwest series proved that strange things can happen. Do I think they can win the series? Hell no! Do I think that there is an end to this mess?...well, hope is a beautiful thing.