Saturday, February 21, 2015

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2015 SPORTS THE STAR
ADRIAN FRATER
News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
A s I have previously stated in this column, I
am not a fan of Dave Cameron, the incum-
bent president of the West Indies Cricket
Board (WICB), as while it would be disingenuous of
me to label him a non-performer, I must also admit
that I am not a supporter of his leadership style.
In fact, my discomfort with Cameron’s leadership style was
the reason I had no difficulty accepting the initial decision by
the William ‘Billy’ Heaven-led Jamaica Cricket Association
(JCA) not to support him in his upcoming presidential face-off
against Barbadian former West Indies fast bowler, Joel
Garner.
Unlike some local cricket administrators and fans, I don’t
see anything unpatriotic or treacherous in supporting Garner
for the presidency of the WICB, especially if the general feel-
ing is that he is the better candidate. I would consider it a
monumental act of dishonesty to vote against a good candi-
date solely because he is not Jamaican.
DEMOCRATIC MANNER
Frankly speaking, I am somewhat wary that, after voting in
a democratic manner to support Garner, the JCA was seem-
ingly bullied into changing its original position because
persons with insular agendas, which run contrary to the view
that we are one West Indian family, decided that Jamaica
must support a Jamaican, no matter what.
Based on what I have read about Garner’s stewardship as
president of the Barbados Cricket Association, it would
appear that he is strong, organised, and decisive; traits that
Cameron failed to exhibit in the lead-up to the circumstances
that caused the West Indies team to abandon the 2014 tour of
India.
As I have stated in previous columns, I believe that Cameron
was primarily responsible for the circumstances which
ultimately caused the players to abort the tour of India, a
situation that has brought the region’s cricket into disrepute
and did serious damage to our once-impeccable reputation.
In allowing the players to leave the region for India without
signed contracts and then failing to jump on a plane to India
when the players sought his intervention in their dispute with
the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), I believe Cameron
blundered badly and showed extremely poor judgement.
As president of the WICB, the buck stops with Cameron. It
was his business to take the bull by the horns and offer deci-
sive leadership when the circumstances in India demanded it.
Had he done so, I believe the WICB would not now be facing
the mammoth multimillion-dollar lawsuit, which the Indians
have filed.
INEPT LEADERSHIP
Speaking of inept leadership, it will be interesting to see
what action the JCA will take against St James Cricket
Association (StJCA) president, Cecil Fletcher, who, having ten-
dered his resignation when the JCA initially voted to support
Garner, subsequently went on a campaign aimed at toppling
JCA boss Heaven.
Based on the stance Fletcher took in resigning and subse-
quent action to have the original decision reversed, it would
appear that he has no stomach for the principles of democracy,
which leaves one to question his capacity to function as a
team player and operate by consensus.
On principle, I hope the JCA would accept Fletcher’s
resignation, because his current action seems to indicate that
he would not have difficulty going the renegade route in the
future, if things are not going his way. If I were in the
president’s chair, for the sake of stability and good order, I
certainly would not want him around.
Feel free to send your feedback to
FILE
West Indies Cricket Board President Dave Cameron (left) and
the West Indies Players Association boss, Wavell Hinds.
Joel Garner Fletcher
JCA capitulation versus patriotism