Bruce Aanensen, CEO WICB
When one feels aggrieved by another person's comments or statements, that person certainly has a right to defend their self interests. On Thursday of this week, embattled WICB CEO Bruce Aanensen felt the need to defend his "good name and reputation", following WIPA President Dinanath Ramnarine's letter to outgoing WICB President Ken Gordon, requesting Aanensen's removal.
Aanensen opened his own letter by saying that he "had contemplated not responding to the accusations made by Mr. Ramnarine..." and he would have been well served to have followed his initial position. Instead of letting Gordon's reply suffice, Aanensen launched into his own laundry list of complaints against Ramnarine, stating that he had among other things, "deliberately not spoken the truth". At least Gordon's letter had a measure of decency to it, Aanensen didn't even bother with that. Aanensen also accused Ramnarine of "spreading misinformation to embarrass the WICB". It seems to us that Aanensen and his colleagues needed no help from Ramnarine to embarrass the WICB as evidenced by the England tour arbitration, including the apparent contradiction of Aanensen's statements by the Barbadian Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, the apparent contradiction of Aanensen by Eddie Green, CARICOM's assistant secretary general, as to whether CARICOM had given the go ahead for the canceled Zimbabwe A team tour, the Gayle-Ganga captaincy fiasco and the late arrival of ODI players in England among other things. All within three months of Aanensen being on the job.
Aanensen also accuses Ramnarine of falsifying a letter on behalf of the players, saying that "this letter was written by Mr.Ramnarine to himself on behalf of the players" - a charge for which he provided no evidence. The whopper, however, is that Aanensen continues to deny calling the players "incompetent", and in the process damage whatever credibility he may still have. Aanensen asserts
"The statement "a bunch of incompetent cricketers" was made by an ex West Indies captain from the commentary box after the Leeds test match in which the West Indies suffered their heaviest loss in our test history. This statement was the subject of a discussion with a radio host who interviewed me about a series of matters and is not my statement."
If this is so then Aanensen should be angry at Kern Ramlochan, the author of the article in Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday, which quoted Aanensen as saying:
“WIPA wants the board to give them 110 percent of revenue and run West Indies cricket in debt apparently. The players are not doing the job but they want more money despite being incompetent”
One would think that in order to protect "his good name and reputation" Aanensen would have demanded a retraction from Newsday for the article published more than a month ago. However Aanensen, to our knowledge has done no such thing.
Aanensen's letter is so strongly worded that it really makes one wonder what kind of a CEO would write such a letter for public consumption or what kind of organization would proudly publish such a letter from its CEO on its website? If Mr. Aanensen really wants to protect his "good name and reputation" then he should do the one thing that may help him do that: resign.
- 1203 reads
Mon, 30/07/2007 - 3:30am
Every West Indian, graced with a modicum of concern for West Indies cricket, must surely view the publicized hostilities between the WICB and the WIPA with increasing consternation and embarrassment. The recent back-and-forth among Kenneth Gordon, Dinanath Ramnarine and Bruce Aanensen underscores the timeliness of the Governance Committee’s interim report, and its urgent appeal for a shift in the culture of West Indies cricket.
This latest row was sparked by the allegation that the West Indies team wishes the resignation of the CEO of the WIBC for unguardedly describing it as incompetent. Quite clearly, if Mr. Aanensen described the West Indies team as “incompetent,” he only gave voice to a generally accepted conclusion; however, if that is the case, it appears ill-advised and unprofessional for him to criticize publicly the team he manages. The same may be said of Christopher Gayle’s open criticism of his employers, however disturbed he may have been by the circumstances surrounding his appointment as captain and the board’s (mis)handling of the replacement players. In this distasteful and bewildering saga, neither the WICB nor the WIPA and its players has the moral high ground. Both sides are guilty of a spate of vitriolic and ad hominem statements, entirely deleterious to a harmonious relationship. Each seems bent on winning the verbal chess match. But whatever their differences, they are comrade in arms, contributing ever so generously to the prevailing unhealthy climate, and more importantly, sinking West Indies Cricket to an unimaginable and egregious low.
The course to the restoration of our cricket team lies, in part, with the well-rehearsed recommendations made in the Governance Committee’s report, especially those under restructuring of the WIBC, team performance, and strengthening the base of the game. Yet, even if all this were accomplished, as long as the WIBC and its dialogue partner, the WIPA, continue to place self-interest and public image above the abysmal state of our cricket, and disregard the foundation stone of consensus—civility—the prospect of a brighter day in West Indies cricket remains a delusive dream.
So the jury is in: restructuring of West Indies cricket is long over-due. But this must be thorough and comprehensive; half measures will not do. Therefore, we must begin with the restructuring of the WIBC, followed by the reorganization of the West Indies team. We need a competent board and capable, disciplined, and industrious players. Perhaps Dr. Julian Hunte will make some progress on these issues. I can only pray that he does. But a good board cannot by itself transform our cricket. However, backed by a professional outfit in charge of its administration, a less talented, but more disciplined and focused team, will over time reap greater dividends. And finally, it is also time for the West Indies players to reform the WIPA. Calmer heads must prevail. I have little confidence that rewarding Dinanath Ramnarine with a seat at the table will solve the problem. Many mature ex-players are available to represent the current players with courage and humility, and so serve the best interest of the team and the West Indies people—less we forget, the most important stake-holder in West Indies cricket.
Glendon Thompson,
Oxford,
England
Mon, 30/07/2007 - 8:55am
Well said!
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