Anand Sanasie says he will focus on improving team performance, strengthening regional cricket and revolutionizing grassroots cricket if he becomes the next president of Cricket West Indies at the next Annual General Meeting on March 29.
He also makes a case for improving women's cricket and expanding the sport into the North American market stating that now is the time for CWI to adopt more visionary policies.
In a lengthy statement released Wednesday night, Sanasie outlined the pillars of his manifesto as he formally announced his challenge to the presidency of Ricky Skerritt, who is in the latter stages of the role he won in March 2019 when he unseated then-incumbent Dave Cameron.
Sanasie, the long-standing secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) said his decision to run for the presidency had been a year in the making.
“Over the past year, several directors of CWI along with many stakeholders across the region have reached out to me and sought to persuade me that I should consider serving as CWI President. Over the past months I have given it deep thought and consideration, discussed it with my family and the executives of the Guyana Cricket Board and today I consider it a distinct honour to announce that I will be contesting the CWI presidency,” Sanasie said in the statement.
“I am equally honoured to also announce that I will be contesting along with a stalwart of West Indies Cricket administration, my colleague Mr Calvin Hope of Barbados. Calvin and I have consulted widely across the region and out of these consultations we have developed a detailed manifesto which we will be unveiling in the coming weeks.”
He identified what he said are the key pillars of that manifesto.
“First we recognize that the performance of the West Indies Team serves as a barometer for the state of West Indies Cricket and as the only constant in the regional psyche. Therefore, the West Indies Team Performance is one central pillar,” he said.
“Secondly, regional cricket is what supplies and fortifies the West Indies Team. The territorial boards manage the production line of elite players for the West Indies teams. We believe that regional cricket requires greater investment from the CWI level and will implement a system of greater sponsorship share and larger annual subvention to each territorial board.”
He also stated that for there to be any sustained success of the West Indies team there needed to be a better grassroots programmes across the region.
“Thirdly, he said, regional cricket and ultimately the West Indies Team is only as strong as our grassroots cricket programmes. We believe that there needs to be the renewed focus, revitalization and a revolution in grassroots and school cricket all across the Caribbean.”
Sanasie also announced plans to return power to the territorial boards, increase support to women’s cricket and tap into the potential massive US market.
“We recognize, critically that over the past two years, there has been a systematic centralization of power and decision making and the ostracization and miniaturization of the territorial boards who are the shareholders of West Indies Cricket acting on behalf of the people of the Caribbean,” he said.
On Women’s cricket: “Our team will place renewed and heavier emphasis on the development of women’s cricket, focusing on girls’ cricket in the form of training, competition and tournaments, camps and succession planning. The West Indies Women’s Team must be consistently among the best in the world and we will ensure there is a comprehensive strategic measurable programme in place to achieve this.”
With regards to the tapping into the US, Sanasie said:
“Cricket globally is in the throes of rapid transformation from the perception of a lethargic past time to high energy, desirable entertainment. West Indies cricket and CWI must be at the forefront of this transformation.
“West Indies Cricket must also meaningfully and purposefully pursue expansion into the vast and lucrative North American market as a critical plank of augmenting and guaranteeing financial stability. This requires a planned strategic approach which our Team will pursue with the United States cricket authorities through partnership, collaboration and synergies. The US market is poised for transformative and explosive take-off and as the leading cricket governing body in this hemisphere, CWI can both partner with and offer support and guidance to Cricket USA for our mutual benefit.
It is not long before T20 cricket and other variations of the shorter game become staples on the US sporting and entertainment calendar.
It is now time for the executive leadership and governance of Cricket West Indies to transition from raw political horse-trading and a centralized hoarding of power to professional, visionary and astute policy-making based on equity, transparency, fairness and demonstrable competence.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Ramharack stars with four wickets as West Indies clinch thriller against Pakistan in first T20I
West Indies sealed a thrilling one-run win in the first women's T20I against Pakistan in Karachi. The visitors posted 122 after a disciplined bowling performance from Pakistan, which was spearheaded by Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal. But West Indies' bowlers responded in kind, shackling the Pakistan innings and turning the chase into a nervy one that went to the death. In the end, it would boil down to two runs off the final delivery, but Shamilia Connell beat the bat, and Shemaine Campbelle behind the stumps effected the run-out.
In the first of five T20Is, West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first as they looked to continue their 100% record in Pakistan on this tour. But on a pitch that gripped under the lights, it was Pakistan who started stronger as Iqbal struck of the second ball to send the talismanic captain Hayley Matthews back for a duck. Diana Baig, the most economical of the Pakistan bowlers, trapped Campbelle behind soon after to leave West Indies wobbling at 14 for two. The partnership between Qiana Joseph and Stafanie Taylor that followed did steady the ship, but Pakistan never quite let them get going.
A pair of valuable cameos - both Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry scored 13 off 9 balls - helped West Indies tip over the run-a-ball mark, but Pakistan would have felt they had a slight edge at the halfway mark.
That advantage was bolstered by a dynamic innings from opener Sidra Ameen, whose 17-ball 23 put Pakistan ahead of the asking rate by the end of the powerplay. But losing both her and Gull Feroza within four balls of each other without adding to the score brought West Indies roaring back into it, and when Karishma Ramharack cleaned up Ayesha Zafar after a stilted innings, the visitors had edged ahead. But Pakistan captain Dar's 24-ball 27 saw Pakistan seize the advantage again as the game balanced on a tightrope throughout the innings.
It all came to a head in a dramatic final over, with Connell bowling. When Najiha Alvi smacked the penultimate ball for an exquisite inside-out cover drive for four, Pakistan appeared, for one final time, to be sneaking home. But a dot ball would follow, and as Pakistan hearts were broken, West Indies' streak held firm.
West Indies 122 for 9 (Joseph 34, Taylor 30, Sana 3-24) beat Pakistan 121 for 8 (Dar 27, Ramharack 4-15) by one run
IPL: Bairstow century gives Kings stunning win over KKR with record run chase
Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten century to lead Punjab Kings to a magnificent record Indian Premier League run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders.
England batter Bairstow scored a stunning 108 not out off 48 balls with nine maximums as the Kings somehow chased down a victory target of 262 with eight balls to spare at Eden Gardens.
Bairstow was helped by Shashank Singh, who smashed an unbeaten 68 from 28 deliveries with eight maximums of his own in a remarkable display of hitting.
Hosts KKR thought they had done enough for victory when a fast start from Phil Salt (75 from 37) and Sunil Narine (71 off 32) set them up a huge total of 261-6, but the Kings battled back to earn a famous triumph.
Data Debrief
This astonishing IPL 2024 campaign has already seen Sunrisers Hyderabad twice break the record for the highest innings score in the competition and now the Kings have made more history by recording the biggest chase ever seen in T20 cricket.
This was Bairstow’s second IPL hundred, more than five years after he registered his first while playing for SRH in 2019, and it has given the Kings just their third victory of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.
Reviving cricket's spirit: new JCA president Bennett focused on rebuilding sport from its foundation
“If you really want to kill whatever you do, start from the top going down.”
Those words by newly-elected Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Dr. Donovan Bennett, just about declared that he is armed with a vision and a no-nonsense approach to not only change the narrative of the country’s governing cricket body, but also to rebuild the sport from the youth level up.
Bennett, who has a passion for cricket, revealed plans for the journey ahead with optimism that he can lead Jamaican cricket into a new era of greatness, after he dethroned Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven 67 to 30 during the JCA’s Annual General Meeting at the Jamaica Conference Centre on Thursday.
Interestingly, Bennett, was a long-serving vice-president to Heaven, who led for over a decade, but said he was forced to challenge for the presidency due to the state of Jamaica’s cricket, and the resounding response from delegates justified his decision.
Though a bit surprised by the margin of victory, Bennett believes his proven track record at the youth level was what convinced delegates to vote in his favour, denying Heaven a fifth-consecutive term.
“I suppose because of my work at the youth level. I must say, I was quite successful for a very long time, and if we're going to rebuild Jamaica's cricket, then we've got to start at the bottom and work our way up. So, I think the voters think that they needed somebody who have a proper knowledge of cricket and how to administer it,” Bennett said.
With well-known administrators Fritz Harris and Dr Akshai Mansingh as his vice presidents, Bennett intends to waste little time rolling out his ambitions for the future of Jamaican cricket. His first order of business was to focus on rebuilding the sport from its foundation –the youth.
“If you start a building and you build from the top downwards, you're going to have problems. There's only one profession where they start from the top and go to the bottom and that is a gravedigger. So, if you really want to kill whatever you do, start from the top. So, we're going to start from the bottom. We are going to start at the Under-13 level, our first task would be to start building from there,” he declared.
“Because if you build the Under-13 and you build it properly, then the following year, you will have Under-15 cricketers, and the following year you'll have Under-17 cricketers, and it goes along like that. There's also another gap in that pyramid. Just below the top of the pyramid, we have an Under-23 gap, when players leave the Under-19 level, sometimes they get lost because there is not an Under-23 level to absorb them and to keep them going in the game. It's not going to happen in one year. It's going to take time, but if you do it properly, before you know it, you will have guys who are winners for you,” Bennett explained.
Bennett's approach to youth development is owing to the fact that the country's current crop of senior players, have had very little success in recent times. As such, he and his team are ready to hit the ground running, with the assistance of others, to steer cricket down the right path.
“I understand the enormity of the task at hand because things are at a very low level right now, but as I told my supporters and my friends that, I can't do it alone, and it's going to take the effort of every cricket loving person to get this thing going. No one of us or no few of us can rebuild cricket in Jamaica. So, it's going to be a process of working with and consulting with all the clubs and parishes. We've got to rebuild that relationship between the clubs and parishes because the JCA is a reflection of the clubs and parishes. So that's where I think we need to go,” he added.
For Bennett, the implementation of plans, which were shelved by his predecessor, will also take priority on his to-do list. However, with the JCA currently strapped for cash, he is hoping to access funds from Cricket West Indies (UWI) to cushion the shortfall.
“There are a lot of good plans lying at the JCA. The problem with the JCA has been implementation and getting the funding in place to get these programmes working. So, we need funding, and we need proper implementation. So, the effort has to be there, and the money has to be there. So let us not fool ourselves. If we don't have money, we can't do anything,” Bennett noted.
He continued: “I think one of the problems that the past administration had is that they didn't get funding because they didn't go and ask for it. We are going to go there and we're going to ask for it, and I'm sure that with the proper presentation and proper plans being drawn to be presented to sponsors, that we will get sponsorship.
“And I have significant goodwill at CWI level. I mean, I represent Jamaica there, and I have tried my best to be respected and understood by the majority of the directors there, so I expect cooperation at that level. Right now, the CWI owes Jamaica a lot of money, and I am sure that we will get that.”
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