It’s now been just over three months, ninety-plus days, and counting since Dr. Kishore Shallow was elected unopposed as Cricket West Indies (CWI) latest President. In the time that has passed since his election, Dr. Shallow has been boldly skating on the very thin ice of public opinion. Not only through some highly controversial appointments to key positions but also for his lack of action on initiatives that were promised as part of his pre-election Manifesto!
The St Vincent-born Dr. Shallow served for many years as President of Windwards Islands Cricket, one of CWI’s six territorial member Boards. One of his very first actions upon assuming the reigns of the CWI presidency was to announce the appointment of his fellow Windward islander, St Lucia’s Darren Sammy, as Head Coach of the West Indies ODI and T20I white-ball cricket teams.
The controversy surrounding Sammy’s appointment arose from the fact that he was not at the time in possession of at least two of the position’s posted requirements. No Level 3 Coaching Certification as listed in the official Job Description, nor the required degree of experience in coaching international teams.
Dr. Shallow very boldly responded directly to the brewing controversy with a publicly issued statement defending the interviewing committee’s choice of Sammy. To add further fuel to the already flaming controversy it was, however, also reported that the Hiring Committee itself was comprised largely of individuals with very little firsthand knowledge of the fundamental requirements of a Head Coach for international cricket’s highest level!
Dr. Shallow’s provided explanation was that Sammy’s proven motivational pedigree, as a two-time T20I World Cup winning captain of the West Indies, had prevailed over the other short-listed candidates. One of those being none other than the legendary former Guyana and West Indies batting stalwart, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who just last year had led the Jamaica Tallawahs to success as the 2022 Caribbean Premier League Champions. Needless to say, unlike Sammy, Chanderpaul has long since acquired his certification as a Level 3 Coach.
The controversy fire surrounding Sammy’s Head Coach appointment then became red hot with the West Indies Selectors’ announcement that their choice as a replacement of the injured left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, for the West Indies squads to UAE and the Zimbabwe-hosted 2023 World Cup Qualifier, would be the St Lucia-born opening batsman Johnson Charles. It escaped no one that the unexpected choice of Charles had been made as an outcome of his St Lucia countryman Sammy’s very first Head Coach involvement as the third member of the West Indies white ball teams’ Selection Panel. The other two members are the Barbados-born duo of the Rt, Honourable Desmond Haynes and Roland Butcher.
Incomprehensibly selected as a fourth opener replacement for the left-arm spinner Motie, Charles’ scores in the matches he played first in the UAE followed by the Zimbabwe Qualifier were 24, 63, 3, 66, 0, 1, 54 and 0. Two ducks, a single and a three along with a 24 in eight completed innings. Furthermore, two of his three recorded half-centuries were scored in warmup matches against UAE and only one in the actual World Cup Qualifier. When it mattered most.
Charles’ inconsistency was a recurring theme, whether he batted at number three or in his customary openers role essentially making no real difference. It was one of the factors which contributed to the West Indies subsequently being knocked out of World Cup qualification contention from as early as after just the first of the three Super Six matches, the top two teams determining phase of the Zimbabwe Qualifier.
Dr. Shallow’s already controversial Darren Sammy Head Coach appointment has, therefore, now failed miserably in its very first assignment. The simple task of securing the two times former champions West Indies ODI World Cup qualification against such unlikely challenging opponents as the USA, Nepal, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands, followed immediately by Scotland in the Qualifier’s Super Six stage.
Under their “major motivator” Head Coach Darren Sammy, the two times former World Cup champions, flattered to deceive. Losing three of its five matches played to crash out of World Cup qualification contention for the very first time in the tournament’s forty-eight-year history.
Against that painful backdrop, which is now being universally regarded as the lowest of lows for the once mighty West Indies team, the Dr, Shallow-led CWI has since announced the appointment of his fellow Vincentian Miles Bascombe to the now extremely crucial position of Director of Cricket. Bascombe will take over from Jimmy Adams, who had been in the role for the past six years.
Bascombe, 37, played one T20 International for the West Indies in 2011 and played first-class cricket between 2007 and 2017, for both the Windward Islands and the Combined Campuses and Colleges. He is a graduate of the University of the West Indies with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and is a certified coach.
In announcing Bascombe’s appointment CWI’s Executive Director Johnny Grave stated: “Following a thorough recruitment process, Miles stood out to the panel with his skills, experience and intimate knowledge of our cricket system, especially at Territorial Board level. His passion and understanding of the game at all levels are outstanding. He is a critical thinker with a strong analytical and strategic mindset, which will be hugely beneficial to us as we embark on formulating our new 4-year strategic plan!”
The highly questionable part of Grave’s statement was in the very first line “following a thorough recruitment process!” Even before Jimmy Adams’ decision to not seek a renewal extension of his six-year contract had been made public, rumours of Bascombe’s imminent appointment were already being wildly circulated in almost every crevice and corner of West Indies cricketing circles!
The initial response then was just the same as when the appointment was eventually announced. Widespread opposition and serious eyebrow-raising at the obvious Vincentian country-man connections between Dr. Shallow and Bascombe.
As he’s stated privately, however, Dr. Shallow has developed a knack for selectively tuning out any negative feedback that is inconsistent with his self-belief and the pursuit of his established objectives. Accusations of nepotism and countryman favoritism over either the Darren Sammy Head Coach or Miles Bascombe Director of Cricket appointments will, therefore, be as the saying goes “pouring water on a duck’s back!”
What’s not so certain is whether the good Dr. Shallow will demonstrate the same indifference when, in just another three months, the high court of public opinion starts to seriously question his fulfillment of at least one of the promises he made as part of his pre-election Manifesto. Contained within Dr. Kishore’s ‘Pushing The Boundaries Manifesto was the stated promise that “The new dispensation will hit the ground running. In the first months, there will be the immediate implementation of fundamental programs. The following TEN activities lead the agenda. There will be purpose and vigour in all actions to ensure the ideal start to achieve targets!”
Here are the TEN “Power Play” activities that Dr, Shallow promised would be completed within the first six months of his presidential term: 1. Meeting with key Stakeholders. Engage Governments, Corporate Caribbean, Legends of our cricket, WIPA and global Cricket Counterparts to forge strategic partnerships to advance West Indies cricket. 2. Revise Committee Structures. Establish purposeful committees with appropriate personnel to improve the overall efficiency of CWI.
- Review Territorial Boards (TBs) Development Funding. Assess the
financial positions of TBs and provide them with a more sustainable and favourable funding model. Debt repayment will be prioritized! 4. Establish a diverse Commercial Arm. Assemble a group of business and marketing experts to identify new commercial opportunities to increase revenue for CWI.5. Revise Financial Management Strategy. Establish best practices to gain a greater degree of efficiency with CWI financial management.6. Champion a Under 23 Program. Initiate and fund a structured under 23 program across the region that will complement the Emerging Players program.7. Conduct a Human Resources Audit. Examine our HR policies, practices, and personnel, to identify opportunities for improvement, with the aim of increasing productivity.8. Governance Reform. Strengthen the philosophy of Unity of Purpose with key stakeholders while continuing the evolution of CWI governance to ensure it is in alignment with modern-day best practices, and culturally applicable.9. Audit Training And Playing Facilities. Conduct a thorough assessment of the facilities across the region. This would be the initial phase of a broad capital project to improve cricket infrastructure across the region.10. Implement Franchise Review Recommendations. Implement the recent recommendations to improve the franchise system.
From all appearances to date, halfway through his first six months of office, very few if any at all of those promised initiatives have as yet been implemented. For Dr Shallow who came into the Presidency against the backdrop of having been the Vice President of the now regarded worst-ever CWI presidential administration renowned as it was for unfulfilled promises, maintaining his integrity should be the adopted guiding light in determining his actions.
Should he fail over the next three months to live up to the promises he’s made, he might then experience the thin ice of controversy that he’s been skating on so boldly quickly cracking under his feet to become ice-cold frigid waters ready to swallow him entirely, from feet to head!