The CARICOM Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee (PMSC) on Cricket has strongly called for comprehensive reforms in West Indies cricket. Deep concerns were expressed over the sport’s current state, demanding immediate action from Cricket West Indies (CWI).
The statement comes after a recent virtual meeting of the CARICOM Bureau, which was chaired by Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Dr. Andrew Holness, alongside outgoing chair Mia Mottley of Barbados and incoming Chair Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Guyana’s President and PMSC Cricket Chair, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, led discussions on the critical state of West Indies cricket.
The PMSC emphasized cricket’s immense economic, cultural, and emotional significance to the region, calling it a “public good” that has long elevated Caribbean nations globally.
However, the committee voiced concerns over the sport’s decline, particularly in Test cricket, citing failures in youth development, governance, and long-term planning.
“The team’s recent performances are a wake-up call,” the statement said.
“Every match our West Indies team plays carries weight far beyond the boundary ropes.”
CARICOM leaders highlighted years of inaction on major reform proposals for CWI restructuring and urged CWI to finally implement the overdue recommendations.
“We are troubled by the lack of real progress,” the PMSC stated.
A special committee will be assembled featuring cricket legends, private sector leaders, and academics to review past reports, integrate key recommendations, and draft an action plan to address the stagnation in West Indies cricket.
CARICOM reaffirmed its commitment to working with CWI and regional stakeholders to implement bold reforms, restore public trust, and return West Indies cricket to world dominance across all formats.
“The time for talk is over,” the statement concluded. “The Caribbean deserves a cricket team that reflects its passion and pride.”
The West Indies cricket team’s catastrophic collapse to just 27 runs against Australia in Kingston has sparked a war of words, with Cricket West Indies President Kishore Shallow placing blame squarely on CARICOM governments for failing to invest in cricket infrastructure.
On a St Vincent Radio station, Shallow said, “CARICOM governments, including St Vincent and others, are simply not building the necessary infrastructure to produce the next generation of West Indies cricketers.”
But, former T&T Prime Minister and former PMSC chairman, Dr. Keith Rowley, called Dr. Shallow’s comments “unfortunately inaccurate.”
Dr. Rowley said, “Anybody who knows anything about West Indies cricket will know that the nursery of cricket in the primary school, preparation of grounds, coaches for juniors, male and female, a lot of the international standard facilities like stadia, are largely government public sector expenditure, government funds, there’s an allocation for cricket in virtually all the islands, especially T&T. And therefore, to say that government does nothing for cricket is an unfortunately inaccurate statement.”
Dr. Rowley admitted that the challenges to arresting the slide of West Indies cricket were huge and warned against repeating so-called failed experiments.
He stated that the time had come for the issues to be confronted head-on if West Indies cricket was to survive.
