Hooper: WICB must pay to keep WI stars
By RENALDO MATADEEN Saturday, July 4 2015
Former West Indies captain, Carl Hooper, has called on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to safeguard Caribbean players from the lure of Twenty20 (T20) cricket abroad in hopes of cultivating a stronger brand of regional cricket.
“I think we’ve got great assets in people like Chris Gayle and (Kieron) Pollard. These are some of the best T20 players in the world. It’s just a shame that India can grab them and package a really good T20 tournament to be sold all over the world and we (West Indies) can have a very important Test series against an Australian side as we recently had (last month) and a Sunil Narine is missing,†stated the current coach of Guyana Amazon Warriors.
“This is something I thought was going to be an issue from years ago. We have to address the situation. It’s going to recur in the future. We will have another Pollard and other stars so as long as we don’t address it, it’s no use trying to rebuild Windies cricket if you don’t have the best players on the park. That’s an issue I think that the board needs to address,†continued the Guyanese. In 2012, he warned that unless WICB improved contracts, there would be an exodus of players to foreign leagues, telling Australian outlet, ‘The Advertiser’, that “one of the biggest threats facing cricket is the IPL.†The Guyanese back then singled out Narine and Dwayne Bravo as players whose shelf-lives in Test were dwindling. Hooper constantly referenced the Indian Premier League (IPL) which saw the likes of Narine, Gayle and Pollard stick to their franchises on the sub-continent during the 2-0 Test series loss to the Aussies with Lendl Simmons and Bravo having retired from the format earlier this year. Current Windies coach, Phil Simmons, instigated talks with this quintet as well as all-rounder, Andre Russell, over possible returns to the Test fray — which are yet to bear fruition.
With the IPL window and other territorial board competitions providing potential handicaps to West Indies’ Test schedule, he emphasised on solutions to retain quality players domestically. “This could all be resolved if our board takes the necessary steps to keep these players at home. As an ex-cricketer, I think it’s an easy decision, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to sit and be offered a million bucks for six weeks’ work during the IPL and the West Indies Cricket Board is going to put a hundred — I don’t know what they’re (cricketers) being paid today, but I’m sure it’s nowhere close to that — or a two hundred thousand dollar contract (out) for the whole year?†he said.
The all-rounder continued — “It’s an easy decision to make so again, I think it will come down to our board recognising that we’ve got some special talent and yes, there will be players we will contract for a hundred thousand (dollars) but there will be some who’ll be worth a couple million dollars. You’ve got to go out and get the necessary money to get these guys contracted.†West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and WICB recently announced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players following last year’s walkout in India.
Hooper also indicated that he was never against T20s, but was an advocate of restructuring the current set-up between players and the board because of the benefits the shorter format offered. In addition to the monetary advantages and players now becoming products to be marketed, Hooper felt that the game required adaptation and improvisation in players’ techniques. “I think there’s a place for T20 cricket in the Caribbean. I think the one good thing is that it gives the young player a chance to showcase his talent on the international scene at a very early age and play in front a big crowd. Most of these (T20) games would be in places like India so that’s important. Test cricket, however, is a totally different kettle of fish. There’s a lot of pressure in T20s because you’re forced and you’ve got to execute so there’s nothing wrong with it. I wish I had an opportunity when I was younger to play it,†he concluded.
By RENALDO MATADEEN Saturday, July 4 2015
Former West Indies captain, Carl Hooper, has called on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to safeguard Caribbean players from the lure of Twenty20 (T20) cricket abroad in hopes of cultivating a stronger brand of regional cricket.
“I think we’ve got great assets in people like Chris Gayle and (Kieron) Pollard. These are some of the best T20 players in the world. It’s just a shame that India can grab them and package a really good T20 tournament to be sold all over the world and we (West Indies) can have a very important Test series against an Australian side as we recently had (last month) and a Sunil Narine is missing,†stated the current coach of Guyana Amazon Warriors.
“This is something I thought was going to be an issue from years ago. We have to address the situation. It’s going to recur in the future. We will have another Pollard and other stars so as long as we don’t address it, it’s no use trying to rebuild Windies cricket if you don’t have the best players on the park. That’s an issue I think that the board needs to address,†continued the Guyanese. In 2012, he warned that unless WICB improved contracts, there would be an exodus of players to foreign leagues, telling Australian outlet, ‘The Advertiser’, that “one of the biggest threats facing cricket is the IPL.†The Guyanese back then singled out Narine and Dwayne Bravo as players whose shelf-lives in Test were dwindling. Hooper constantly referenced the Indian Premier League (IPL) which saw the likes of Narine, Gayle and Pollard stick to their franchises on the sub-continent during the 2-0 Test series loss to the Aussies with Lendl Simmons and Bravo having retired from the format earlier this year. Current Windies coach, Phil Simmons, instigated talks with this quintet as well as all-rounder, Andre Russell, over possible returns to the Test fray — which are yet to bear fruition.
With the IPL window and other territorial board competitions providing potential handicaps to West Indies’ Test schedule, he emphasised on solutions to retain quality players domestically. “This could all be resolved if our board takes the necessary steps to keep these players at home. As an ex-cricketer, I think it’s an easy decision, as far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to sit and be offered a million bucks for six weeks’ work during the IPL and the West Indies Cricket Board is going to put a hundred — I don’t know what they’re (cricketers) being paid today, but I’m sure it’s nowhere close to that — or a two hundred thousand dollar contract (out) for the whole year?†he said.
The all-rounder continued — “It’s an easy decision to make so again, I think it will come down to our board recognising that we’ve got some special talent and yes, there will be players we will contract for a hundred thousand (dollars) but there will be some who’ll be worth a couple million dollars. You’ve got to go out and get the necessary money to get these guys contracted.†West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and WICB recently announced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players following last year’s walkout in India.
Hooper also indicated that he was never against T20s, but was an advocate of restructuring the current set-up between players and the board because of the benefits the shorter format offered. In addition to the monetary advantages and players now becoming products to be marketed, Hooper felt that the game required adaptation and improvisation in players’ techniques. “I think there’s a place for T20 cricket in the Caribbean. I think the one good thing is that it gives the young player a chance to showcase his talent on the international scene at a very early age and play in front a big crowd. Most of these (T20) games would be in places like India so that’s important. Test cricket, however, is a totally different kettle of fish. There’s a lot of pressure in T20s because you’re forced and you’ve got to execute so there’s nothing wrong with it. I wish I had an opportunity when I was younger to play it,†he concluded.
