- The Shallow Administration: First-Quarter or Half-Time?
Business fads come and business fads go. And one that also came and went several years ago, was that of Stephen Covey. And who remembers the stones and sand exercise? We all should, because it remains an instructive life-lesson.
First, Covey put sand in a transparent glass jar, and then tried to add small stones, and not all the stones could fit. Then he emptied everything, put the stones in first, poured in the sand, and then everything fitted. The moral? Attend to the big-agenda items first, and then the smaller ones will somehow find their place. And what were the big West Indies cricket agenda items just prior to Dr. Kishore Shallow assuming the office of president, Cricket West Indies (CWI) last March? And what might they be now?
The Shallow Manifesto:
As reported by Cricket Hall of Fame on March 7, 2023 [1], Dr. Shallow spoke of a paradigm shift of CWI in attitude, commitment, and actions by all stakeholders. And to achieve the same, he listed four strategic pillars – Cricket Development, Human Capital, Commercial and Marketing and Governance.
“I am elated to share my vision for West Indies cricket,” the report cited above in-part read. “A vision that has been shaped through thorough study of West Indian cricket history, numerous exchanges with stakeholders in cricket and first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the organization.” And then he concludes: “This manifesto outlines a holistic and integrated plan to set Cricket West Indies back on a path to progress.” And as reported in Caribbean National Weekly of March 23, 2023 [2] Dr. Shallow spoke to the importance for CWI to (quote): “find modern best-practice methods to advance the sport in the Caribbean.”
I have always thought that it’s hard to get much done in a 2-year administration term, and probably the CWI president’s term should begin to run for say three years. Nevertheless, a year I think, is time enough for a president to at the very least, begin to lay tracks leading our cricket out of the wilderness. But has Dr. Shallow’s (quote) `holistic and integrated’ plan to-date, shown signs of laying those tracks? I’ll let you be the judge.
But looking back at D. Shallow’s `Pushing the Boundaries’ manifesto, what exactly was in it, which suggested where he wanted to take West Indies cricket? I re-read it recently, and it was saying all the right things that constituents like to hear – like `good governance’, `monetizing the brand’, `paradigm shift’, `transparency’, `widening revenue streams’ and so-on-and-so-forth. But what about directly and permanently lifting West Indies cricket out of its doldrums? And if this was an implicit intent, then how?
Right now, the West Indies, like all of the other cricketing nations, have six products on the market. There are men’s and women’s Test cricket, 50-over cricket and T20. And did Dr. Shallow single-out any one them as the rising tide which would float all boats? Or, was there no tide, and only boats sitting in the canal waiting for the tide to rise? These I think are fundamental questions worthy of answers. Because let’s face it. We aren’t Australia who in these times, and for the longest while, can and have, come close to doing it all. In his manifesto, Dr. Shallow either by design or by accident, did not allude to any one of the six cricket products. But this summer there’s a grand test coming-up.
Should the West Indies win the T20 Cricket World Cup, will our euphoria be as high and/or as long lasting as that of them winning the second Test match against Australia in Brisbane this past January? But here is another important thing. What does Dr. Shallow believe in his heart? Is he a modernist, a traditionalist, a hybrid, or one who just goes with the Caribbean flow?
And if Dr. Shallow is struggling with his own cricket identity, who could blame him?
Cricket stadiums in the Caribbean are virtually packed-out for T20 cricket. Not so much for 50-over cricket, and hardly at-all for Test cricket. But after the West Indies Test win in Brisbane this past January, so packed was the Mason and Guest virtual cricket-studio, that – as Sir Wesley Hall is fond of saying about Kensington Oval on the Saturday Lawrence Rowe completed his triple-century – “not a cockroach could get-in.”
But in all fairness, the packing of Mason’s virtual studio immediately after the Brisbane win was not necessarily a vote one way or the other. Because the usual cadre of Caribbean Heads of Government and West Indies cricket luminaries, did the same when the West Indies won their last T20 World Cup. Winning they say, has many fathers. But, here’s another question: Should a CWI president follow? Or should he lead? And should the answer not be the latter, then why should one run for office in the first place? Because anybody can follow. But let’s set-aside for a moment, speculation as to what might be in Dr. Shallow’s head. What has his first year in office been like?
Changes and Accomplishments:
As far as the cricket itself, the CWI Board – instigated by Dr. Shallow I am assuming – dispensed with the services of the director of cricket and the head coach, publicly called-out a CWI director for talking-out-of-turn, raised the emoluments of women cricketers, and made peace with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA). Dr. Shallow’s fan-base will of-course remind of more. But, should the yardstick of the success of this West Indies cricket administration be measured more by what has already been done, or should it be, by what has not yet been done? Because regarding the latter, embers abound. The brightest of them all is that of player-commitment to West Indies cricket.
Player Commitment:
The unavailability of Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers for the last West Indies Test tour of Australia, caused a global furor, and might have been the two straws that broke the camel’s back. Because over the last several years, as T20 cricket grew around the world, so did the unavailability of West Indies cricketers to represent the West Indies. It’s one thing to speak about `commitment’ as Dr. Shallow did. Quite another though, to devise means which reflect his insistence on it.
Will players continue to be allowed to waltz-in-and waltz-out of representing the West Indies, flying the flag of convenience – the `I have a family to feed’ argument? I particular find that argument distasteful and insulting to Caribbean people. Because what of the rest of us who have to eke out a living out of much less? But I am not the president. Dr. Shallow is, and enquiring minds would like to know. Because even in India, the problem of franchise cricket interrupting feeder systems is real, and is beginning to come to the fore in their cricket conversations [3].
Finding and Developing Talent:
And then there is the business of tapping into our cricket wells.
We keep hearing that there is water down there, and I believe that there is. But are pipes being lowered? Or does Dr. Shallow believe – as the former director of cricket Jimmy Adams espoused, and as the current CWI CEO Johnny Grave continues to espouse – that all roads lead to the cricket academy in Antigua? And was the finding of a Shamar Joseph not a fluke? Because, I don’t get the sense that the bushes are being beaten.
Two summers back, I was shocked to hear the then director of cricket Mr. Adams on a Mason and Guest program declaring club cricket in the Caribbean a thing of the past. And that `coach-centricity’ (whatever that meant), was in. And regarding player development, where does Dr. Shallow stand? Is he waiting on manna from heaven [2]? Or, can’t the CWI president not instigate the implementation of programs to make-do with the funding available? Take Jamaica for-instance.
As Garfield Myers reported in the October 21, 2023 edition of the Jamaica Observer [4], schoolboy cricket in Jamaica – the system which produced Jimmy Adams, Jeffrey Dujon, Uton Dowe, Chris Gayle, Jackie Hendriks, Michael Holding, J. K. Holt, Jr, Esmond Kentish, Easton McMorris, Allan Rae, ‘Collie’ Smith, and Courtney Walsh just to name a few – is in crisis. And just recently, Myers proposed some solutions [5].
CWI is by no means bound to accept them. But something in this regard, is better than nothing. And unless I am mistaken, CWI so-far, has on this score, come out with nothing. The problem of a proper schoolboy cricket structure in the Caribbean, might not be confined to Jamaica, and the West Indies might have a wait yet, before another Shamar Joseph falls from their apple tree, if the burgeoning crisis as Myers puts it, is not addressed.
The Question of the CEO:
There are other questions that might be worthy of at least conversation. And this is I think, one. Johnny Grave – the current CEO for CWI, may know the combination for all the safes in Saint John’s, Antigua. But going forward, is he the right man for the job?
No one has yet given me an explanation that makes sense, as to how the West indies in touring England during perilous Covid-times and saving the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) some 400 million pound in the process, only ended-up with a 2 million pound loan and an extra Test match to a subsequent England tour of the Caribbean. Neither can anyone tell me why in the case of Mr. Chris Gayle and Jamaica, the West Indies cricket administration almost veered off-course, by wanting to turn a cricket Test into a fete match. For these – my two `unfathomables’ – Mr. Grave was at least a bottle-washer, if not head-cook. These lead me to make-mention of another observation.
The Tourism Linkage:
There are growing utterings from Dr. Shallow himself, as to how much the upcoming T20 Cricket World Cup will bring to Caribbean coffers [6]. Might CWI not now, be turning into an adjunct of tourist boards across the region?
Last year in some international cricket matches, we saw the names of individual countries emblazoned across cricket shirts. And this year, there was much chest-thumping in Barbados, that by snaring the hosting the final of the upcoming T20 World Cup, their country has once again, proven that it is the `Mecca’ of West Indies cricket. Is this a fillip to our regional cricket development or a hinderance? I ask for two reasons.
Seeing top-class cricket in-person, is different from watching it on TV. When we saw Sobers, Kanhai and Nurse playing against Australia in 1965 and against England in 1968 at Sabina Park, we at-school in Jamaica, started to ape them.
If Barbados are going to be hands-down winners for hosting a final every time there is an important cricket tournament in the Caribbean, then what of bigger-populated outposts? Is one of the main priorities of CWI, now the furthering of regional tourism? And has the administration now subordinated the development of West Indies cricket to it?
Product Distribution:
It still pains, that after the passing of the venerable cricket broadcaster and writer Mr. Tony Cozier, nine years ago this coming May, no cricket writer from the Caribbean has managed to command a place among ESPNcricinfo regular featured writers. And look down the line. Virtually every cricketing nation worth its salt, except us, commands a slot.
“Sadly, since his departure,” writes Tony McWatt in his latest Wickets Hitting column [7], “there has not been anyone attempting to assume the much-needed role of Media WatchGuard with consistent and constructive written commentary on the affairs of West Indies cricket.” And as for the Tuesday night Mason and Guest cricket talk-show. It now goes worldwide, and has me asking, what might people listening to this program in far-away corners of the world, think of us?
The written and spoken words, are parts of the West Indies cricket product. And it behooves a cricket administration whose leader touts `excellence’, to look after them. The `they are not under my purview’ come-back, will not work. Because like it or not, they are both distribution channels for the West Indies cricket product.
Why Keep Our Gunpowder Dry?
Lastly, the voice of The Right Honorable Ms. Mia Mottley, M.P. Prime Minister of Barbados, is now one of the most listened to when it comes to matters of financial justice in areas such as climate change, and in other global matters as well. In addition, the good lady gave a passionate presentation at the last Frank Worrell Memorial Lecture held in Barbados last year.
As an outsider, I cannot speak with any authority as to what is happening within this West Indies cricket administration. But one would think that attempting to enlist Prime Minister Mottley as some sort of envoy speaking on behalf of West Indies cricket at an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting, could well bring about a crack in the damn, behind which financial flows are being held back.
Dr. Shallow shortly after his installation as CWI president, spoke about thinking of thing outside of the box. He might well be so doing. But is he showing that he is? Again, you be the judge.
West Indies cricket badly need a leader, and not a caretaker manager. Which one has Dr. Shallow so far exhibited himself to be? And for him, is March 2024, his first-quarter? Or is it, his half-time?
References:
[1] Dr. Kishore Shallow Launches “Pushing The Boundaries” Manifesto, Cricket Hall of Fame, March 7, 2023. https://crickethof.org
[2] Shallow says strong finances needed to drive success on the field, Caribbean National Weekly of March 23, 2023 caribbeannationalweekly/com/sports
[3] Gavaskar to BCCI: `Double or triple’ Ranji fees to `look after the feeder system’, ESPNcricinfo, March 16, 2024.
[4] Crisis in schoolboy cricket, by Garfield Myers, Jamaica Observer, October 21, 2023.
[5] A vision for primary school cricket, by Garfield Myers, Jamaica Observer, March 10, 2024.
[6] Shallow touts World Cup’s economic impact, Jamaica Star, January 8, 2024.
[7] Misdemeanor Full March Monthly For West Indies, by Tony McWatt, Wickets Hitting, March 20, 2024. wi.wickets.tel/
Ray Ford who ran for the post of Cricket West Indies president last March, is now enrolled in an advanced academic program in the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, at Johns Hopkins University.
