Cricket West Indies CEO Jonny Grave has come down harshly on the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the lack of financial support. He has alleged that the global cricketing body is doing everything in its power to make sure that West Indies are never strong again.
The Windies Cricket has had a roller-coaster ride in the past 6 months, hitting new lows and highs. The Men in Maroon failed to qualify for the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 in India after losing to the Netherlands in the qualifiers. However, the jolted West Indies side bounced back terrifically with a bilateral series win against England at home. They even registered their first Test win Down Under in 27 years. They drew the series 1-1 on the back of debutant pacer Shamar Joseph.
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But despite the sudden rise, CWI CEO Grave wasn’t pleased with the ICC. Speaking on Wisden Cricket Monthly Podcast, Grave said he was sick of the phrase that the ‘world cricket needs a strong West Indies team’, especially when it is doing all it can to weaken it.
“I think everyone is a bit sick of the phrase – world cricket needs a strong West Indies – when we definitely feel that world cricket is doing everything they can at almost every level to make sure that West Indies Cricket is never strong again,” Grave said.
The Cricket West Indies CEO further said if the world wants the Windies cricket to regain strength then it would need money for that. Grave also pointed out that the CWI’s revenue share in ICC’s current model has fallen to just five per cent.
“I think that is borne of the frustration of that as lan Bishop says in his own words that this is a patronising tone. If you want a strong West Indies Cricket, it would not be that hard to do a bit more. ICC is giving us more money in headlines but our percentage of revenue has gone down from 7 to 5 per cent, which we struggle to understand,” Grave added.
“If we all just are looking after ourselves then are we acting as a community? Are we putting the best product on the field?” he concluded.
West Indies is currently gearing up to co-host the ICC T20 World Cup along with the USA from June 1. They recently played a white-ball series against Australia, losing both the ODI and T201 series of three matches back in February.
(With Agency Inputs)
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