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| Kenneth Gordon | President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Kenneth Gordon, has reported important accomplishments during his one-year-old stewardship of the Board.
He also assured those attending a press conference in Kingston, Jamaica, today (August 10, 2006) that the organisation is working to achieve even more in the near to long term.
Explaining that the Board has been focusing on "building its credibility", Gordon said that seven of eight objectives set one year ago, have been met.
These, he outlined, included acting on recommendations of the Lucky Report, settling the impasse with the West Indies Players" Association (WIPA), restructuring the Board, restructuring the Secretariat in Antigua, dialoguing with and engaging Caribbean governments, offering retainer contracts to players, and reconciling the finances of the organisation.
The eighth goal " the appointment of a CEO for the WICB " will be accomplished by September 1st this year, he pledged.
Noting there has been much criticism of the Board for "taking long in naming a CEO", Gordon said that they had "a good short list" and were being "careful to choose the right person".
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| President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Kenneth Gordon | He also dismissed what he said were frequent comments that "the WICB is anti-player".
Rather, he pointed out, "all key decisions are strongly influenced by former players", including two former Test players on the five-member Executive Committee, four former players on the 12-member Board and seven former players on the Clive Lloyd-led Cricket Committee.
Looking ahead, Gordon said that a report developed by West Indies cricket team coach, Bennett King, and West Indies cricket team manager, Tony Howard, will be the basis of a series of workshops for the team.
The Board has also entered into agreements with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the management of the Lauderhill Stadium in Florida, both of which are expected to increase earnings to the WICB.
The president said that by reorganising its systems and procedures the Board is now in a position to "break even" in 2006, following a US$6.5 million operational deficit in 2004-2005.
Other possible income earners for the WICB, Gordon said would include a regional lottery, the recently launched Visa card, an "Honour Roll" sponsorship programme being marketed to corporate entities across the Caribbean and next year's ICC Cricket World Cup.
The Board, he stressed, is doing all in its power to establish a new dispensation in the relationship with West Indies players. However, he pointed out that, as with all businesses, the relationship between management and workers or unions will sometimes be adversarial. He expressed the hope that the retainer contracts already offered to seven players will help to reduce frequent conflicts.
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| Kenneth Gordon | "Our objective is to be in a position to offer ten to 15 retainer contracts, but we have to also be balancing our finances at the same time. We have no interest in offering retainer contracts to everyone who gets into competitive cricket. Otherwise, people get complacent " stop stretching (to improve). A retainer contract must be something players strive for," he stated, expressing optimism about the future of the WICB-WIPA rapport.
Noting that the WICB "has made an investment in the relationship with the players", Gordon said that his Board is intent on building goodwill, trust, confidence and credibility with the sure knowledge that "if the Board and players have the same objectives, all issues can be resolved". |
