BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WEST INDIES batsman Kieran Powell has indicated that he was left confused by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) officials following a voluntary break from cricket.
In a recently released media statement, the embattled batsman spoke about the difficulty he faced during his sabbatical due to what he described was for personal reasons.
Powell indicated that in June 2014 during the West Indies and New Zealand Test series, he requested a meeting with West Indies Team Manager Richie Richardson and the then Coach Otis Gibson about needing a break from cricket.
“At this meeting I advised them that I would be needing to take a break from international cricket to deal with a personal issue. The conversation concluded with Mr. Richardson and Mr. Gibson conveying their understanding and stating that they hoped that I would return to the West Indies squad as soon as I was available to do so. I had then relayed a detailed account of that same conversation, in writing, to my own management so as to have made them aware of my actions.
“Mr. Richardson and Mr. Gibson went on to assure me that their next steps would include advising West Indies Board officials, including West Indies Director of Cricket Richard Pybus, Head of Cricket Operations Roland Holder and the West Indies Selection Panel, at the time that I had made myself unavailable and that they would be advising the Team Media Manager to put out a press release to announce my forthcoming absence from the team.”
Powell recounted that he then received a phone call from the then Head of the Selection Panel, Clyde Butts, who requested a meeting with him.
“I then went back to my hotel room and received a phone call around 20-30 minutes later from the then Chairman of Selectors, Clyde Butts, requesting that I come to his room. I duly did so and Mr. Butts proceeded to advise me during our meeting that he had been informed of my decision and wished me the best of luck, but hoped that I resolved my personal issues quickly so that I could rejoin the team as soon as possible.
“I left his room feeling that my situation at the time was made clear to the primary parties within the immediate team management structure.”
Powell indicated that despite requesting for time-off, a release was disseminated stating that he and Marlon Samuels were “axed” from the team.
The young opening batsman revealed that he was contacted by WICB President Dave Cameron, whose comments left him confused.
“Furthermore, Mr. Cameron had inquired from my father about my return to international cricket on more than one occasion, particularly during the period of the 2014 Caribbean Premier League. Mr. Cameron had gone so far as to ask my father to request that I contact him, which I did immediately.
“During my initial conversation with Mr. Cameron, he stated that he had not been made aware by anyone in the Board or Team Management of the circumstances surrounding my leave of absence from the West Indies team. This obviously bewildered me as I knew that not only had I had a meeting with the Manager and the then Coach of the West Indies team on the 12th of June, but I had also had a chat with the Chairman of Selectors that same evening following the announcement of my decision.
“Mr. Cameron went on to agree that the Board had a duty of care towards me as a player and that he did not feel due process had been followed. During my conversation with Mr. Cameron, I made it clear that not only had I had a meeting with Mr. Richardson and Mr. Gibson on the 12th of June outlining my circumstances and my request for leave of absence, but that I had also seemingly received their support on the matter at the time.”
Powell indicated that he revisited his decision and made himself available for the West Indies tour of India in October 2014.
“I spoke with current Coach Stuart Williams on the 11th of September regarding returning to the international team. The conversation was positive and Mr. Williams asked that I take the relevant measures to ensure my readmission into the team. I then contacted the now Chairman of Selectors, Mr. Clive Lloyd, as well as Mr. Cameron and Mr. Pybus (WICB Director of Cricket).
“During my conversation with Mr. Cameron, I communicated my wishes to make myself available for international cricketing duties again. This time there was an awkward hesitancy throughout the conversation – less than four weeks after our initial conversation where he had been extremely encouraging about my return to international duty. He stated during our conversation that I had not been practising, which was assumed on his part. He then asked me to contact Mr. Pybus, which I immediately did.”
He also recounted his conversation with Richard Pybus.
“During my conversation with Mr. Pybus, he stated that he had made numerous attempts to contact me but had been unsuccessful. I responded that various people from both the Board and Team Management had by then contacted me several times, including the President of the Board and the Coaches and Manager of the West Indies team. Therefore, I was baffled as to why Mr. Pybus would have been unable to contact me.
“Furthermore, he claimed that I had simply ‘walked off the job’ when this was utterly untrue. I had explicitly made my unavailability known to both the Team Manager and the then Coach. In fact, the media release put out by the West Indies Cricket Board announcing the team for the second Test against New Zealand back in June 2014, went so far as to say that I had been ‘axed’, when I had already made myself unavailable.”
Powell also disclosed that Pybus had requested that he writes a letter outlining his plans to return to cricket and questioned him on the details of his personal issues, which he declined to discuss.
“Mr. Pybus insisted that I write a letter to him outlining my plans to return to cricket. He also pressed me to divulge details of my personal issue, which I did not wish to discuss.
“He then went on to imply, in my opinion, that my future position in the squad would be compromised if I was not willing to disclose this information, which I felt was coercive, intrusive and unjust. He went on to suggest that I return to grass-roots level cricket in my bid to make a comeback. In my mind, I immediately compared this to other situations in the recent past, in which senior players in the West Indies team, had not been expected to follow same protocol and I wondered: ‘Why me?’
“Following this conversation, I felt confused and flabbergasted as I had been contacted numerous times by Board officials and Team Management regarding my return to international cricket. Having made myself available, I felt I was now being made an example of.”
The opening batsman disclosed that he received several messages requesting he contact selector Courtney Browne as a matter of extreme urgency.
“I spoke with Mr Browne who conferenced called in Chairman of Selectors, (Clive) Mr. Lloyd. The reason for the call, they advised, was simply to inform me that they had not forgotten me. Mr. Lloyd went on to say that he felt that I was a future leader for the West Indies team. The call ended shortly after this.
“The episode left me astonished and befuddled as it seemed completely nonsensical that senior officials would contact me so vehemently and with such urgency, simply to advise me that they had not forgotten me.
“However, determined to seal my position back in the West Indies squad, I called both selectors back separately and advised them both of my immediate availability. I specifically asked whether there was a possibility of being selected for the West Indies’ tour of India. I was not provided with a firm answer by the selectors, but I persisted and asked whether I may be considered for the West Indies A Team tour of Sri Lanka, so as to prove my match fitness, because there was no domestic cricket on in the Caribbean region at the time. Again, I was not provided with a firm answer.”
Powell further revealed that the rollercoaster of events left him beleaguered and prompted to step away from the game in its entirety.
“Feeling deflated and confused by several months of rollercoaster events, I made a firm decision to take a step away from the game in its entirety to reflect and refresh.
“There have been numerous reports in the media and in the public domain about my absence from the game of cricket, ranging from alleged struggles with ‘acute fatigue syndrome’ to apparently being ‘in exile’.
“My management has also been unfairly condemned for not speaking out about my absence from cricket. I would like to categorically state on record that I am doing well and remain focused but that I am taking time away from the game.”
Powell called on the public and media to respect his “right to privacy” as he looks forward to returning to international cricket.
