There is no point offering “amnesty” to West Indies’ freelance T20 stars if the board does not pay them better. This was the opinion expressed by Darren Sammy, the former West Indies captain, during an interview at ESPN’s Bristol headquarters recently.
In July, when West Indies faced the growing likelihood – since confirmed – that they would not qualify directly for the 2019 World Cup, Cricket West Indies (CWI) offered to temporarily relax their ODI selection policy of only picking players who featured in the domestic 50-overs tournament. This, they hoped, would pave the way for the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine to play ODIs and strengthen the team’s chances of getting through the World Cup Qualifier in March 2018.
West Indies are left to play just one further ODI series, against New Zealand, before they head to Zimbabwe to feature in the World Cup Qualifiers next March.
Sammy was critical of the selection policy, especially when allied to how little money the players stood to make from domestic cricket as against playing in franchise T20 tournaments around the world.
“That’s the problem,” Sammy said. “When it all started with the past CEO [Michael Muirhead] and (former) director of cricket Richard Pybus, he said ‘West-Indies-first policy’. But you say West Indies first, but the first thing you do you cut the salaries. That doesn’t work.
“You telling guys ‘don’t go and play elsewhere [where] they pay much better, stay at home,’ but the first thing you’re doing is you cut the salaries playing at home.”
In this environment, Sammy felt the temporary amnesty would not solve the standoff between the board and the T20 freelancers, and that CWI would need to draw up flexible contracts to allow players to represent West Indies while also featuring in their choice of T20 leagues.
“I think if you tell guys you have two or three tournaments a year where you get to choose. We give you a white-ball contract or your red-ball contracts, well the retainer contracts. You come back you play home (domestic cricket). If IPL is playing, those who have the contract to play in IPL you go and play. Those not in the IPL you stay home and play.
“Then you have the Pakistan Super League, where the lesser guys tend to filter into that league. So you say ‘okay, you play here, those not playing in that league you have to return.’ And you make the retainer contract something attractive.”
Sammy termed the failure to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup as West Indies’ lowest point, but said he had not lost hope of a turnaround in their fortunes.
“It’s something I spoke about. I was afraid that we would not make into the Champions Trophy, we didn’t, and now to this,” Sammy said. “Hopefully Jason [Holder] and his men can go down to Zimbabwe in March and get to the finals, and assure that there won’t be another ICC event without West Indies.
“But the good thing about when you hit rock bottom, you can only go up from there. Every time I hear or see West Indies play I’m always optimistic, I’ve not lost that passion that something will happen. We’ve shown it over the years, the glimpses where – especially the last Test series in England where they called us all sorts of names, and we have a habit when people call us names to bounce back firing.”
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