Is West Indies cricket dead ?

[Aidan11]

It's all KP's fault.

[sussexpob]

Surely the countries already run their national team, and then WI on top of that. Sure, they would have to fund away tours, but they already fund part of that anyway. Also, they can attract their own sponsorship and tv deals.

Some countries will take a pounding, and a lot is at stake not only due to cricket. Take for instance England's last one day series in the Caribbean, and the upcoming 2015 tour. The WICB announced a varied tour schedule originally, but the ECB acting on behalf of supporter feedback campaigned to have it changed, regional governments got involved in the debate, and the tours were changed.

Its clear, for instance, that English supporters only care to travel to series in the Caribbean in tourist hot spots, particularly Antigua and Barbados, and with an ECB actively pursuing the interests of the travelling supporters, they aren't going to waste their time playing a team of arguable test standard in a place no one is interested in. The ECB will have to arrange this tours themselves, so they just wont.

Good cricketing nations like Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana wont get a sniff if the WICB break up, they will be limited to a tournament equivalent to the current Windies domestic league that would have gone from a poorly financed competition to a premier competition, but only in name. The lack of competition to aspire to a higher team would have gone, or the fact it is a feeder from test cricket arguably making it a damp squib.

So yeah, they can negotiate sponsorship and TV deals, but for what? The Windies as a bigger entity lost their high prized sponsers for competitions in recent years, would a small competition and the risk of no premium international cricket help? It like to hear an argument for it would, because I am not sure you can make a convincing one.

Tourism is also a key economic driver, and the loss of profitable tours like England to some smaller communities could impact noticeably. 20,000 Barmy Army lads getting drunk might not sound a lot, but in economies so small, a few million pounds here and there is a big deal. Would the governments of places like Barbados be happy to throw that potential away?

[hopeforthebest]

WI cricket may not be dead but it's been in intensive care fore a long time now, nothing to do with the changes at the ICC, simply bought about by the riches available to players from T20 and an unstable cricket board.

[Arthur Crabtree]

A company sponsoring the WI is really advertising around the world, to anyone who is interested in cricket, not just to a WI audience. Usually, the names on the boundary boards come from businesses in the visitor's country. They will each get fewer tours, but they will get all of the money that accrues from what they do get. Obviously... I've no idea, but it maybe that splitting wouldn't be all bad news, financially.

I guess some will suffer more than others.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I guess their domestic competition would get cut down. I've heard this is expensive to run. Though without it, the gap between domestic cricket and international cricket would be huge.

[sussexpob]

A company sponsoring the WI is really advertising around the world, to anyone who is interested in cricket, not just to a WI audience. Usually, the names on the boundary boards come from businesses in the visitor's country. They will each get fewer tours, but they will get all of the money that accrues from what they do get. Obviously... I've no idea, but it maybe that splitting wouldn't be all bad news, financially.

I guess some will suffer more than others.

Yet sponsorship is directly affected by the new ICC process. The WICB actually were running series on a loss until they agreed to the Tendulkar farewell series at short notice. They bent over and agreed to that because it came with a golden handshake of a TV deal, that meant they actually made some money from other games.

The bilateral agreement system shafts them, quite literally. You talk about advertising, etc, but how can a board like the WICB canvass sponsorship from companies on anything but a series by series basis if the WICB cant even guarantee who and when they will play? Would you sign a deal with Windies to sponser ten years of Zimbabwe matches? Not sure many Zimbabwean business will be taking up those boards at the grounds.

The uncertainty in their actual playing future will always make their business uncertain.

[sussexpob]

Can't see how you can blame the BCCI for WICBs inability to run a functioning cricket board.

With great power comes great responsibility. At the moment it seems that the BCCI can boss any cricket board to do its bidding, without having to necessarily give much back for the future either. This is a huge case in point. The Windies did the Indians a favour by agreeing to the BCCI's last minute demand for a home test series for Tendulkar to reach 200 tests and retire at home. No doubt that test series made huge money in India because of its profile.

Cut a few months down the line, and the new ICC structure that the WICB supported, and with much more positivity then BD or SA, who were incredibly negative and vocal, the BCCI gave India a right to not only chose more profitable series in the future, but also to take more revenue out of the operating profit of the BCCI.

As a facilitator of that deal the BCCI should be grateful, and the bigger picture of that support probably dwarfs the small pocket change the BCCI lost in not hosting the Windies this time round. Instead, we see the BCCI simply threaten to cut ties and withdraw bilateral agreements to tour in the future.

If the BCCI chose to enact the contracts of this series, it is a poignant show of their hand and what this ICC agreement really meant. People agreed to their powershow simply because they were scarred of not being cut a piece of pie, if there is no pie coming, then the BCCI will shoot themselves in the foot.... mind you, its probably too late now anyway.

The whole sport as a whole needs the BCCI to take this on the chin. A dangerous precedent could be set here.

[Dr Cricket]

reported that BCCI won't take legal action against WICB but most likely will not visit WICB in 2016 but should do in the other 3 expected tours although the 2nd one might not happen either but that's dependent on the relation of the two board and on how WICB respond to BCCI questioning of the cancellation of the tour.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-wes ... 90901.html

Although BCCI are asking for a reason of why WICB pull out of the tour and depending on that reason might charge a small amount or nothing but won't charge the full amount since WICB can't afford it.

That probably sound fair since WICB should have never cancelled the tour and they did not deal with the issue well here quite laughable that BCCI had to get involved twice on this matter so the first and 4th ODI could be played.

WICB might be lucky since I don't think they issued the TV rights for 2016/17 and beyond so they won't lose so much money for the cancelled tour although it would still cost them money but they should be able to recover from those losses.
If they did issue the TV rights then WICB could potentially lose lots of money if they promised 4 indian tours and broadcaster usually has a clause that if india doesn't come for any reason it could reduce the TV rights contract up 10-30% for each tour missed.
When India didn't tour Pakistan in 2008 onwards PCB lost 90% of the TV money from Ten Sports since the clause included that pak had to play India certain amount of time and it never happened.

If India miss one tour that sounds fair to me anything more than that is very harsh for me.

[Dr Cricket]

BCCI being very harsh here all tours cancelled till 2020 and WICB will be sued for cancelling the tour.

[Aidan11]

Hopefully they will work out a compromise. Not that the WICB deserve it.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Looks quite heavy retaliation from India. I wonder if this hasn't been blown out of proportion. The loss of potential profit isn't the same as money being taken out of your account. And now India don't play WI and Pakistan (I think they don't play Zimbabwe or Bangladesh either) so their cricket world keeps shrinking.

[Aidan11]

Could end up with the big three only playing each other..with maybe the odd series v SA.

[SaintPowelly]

Its the players that have made millions from IPL etc as a direct result of int.cricket that have caused this.

Hope WI get banned from IPL like Pakistan players are, that would teach them.

[alfie]

Looks quite heavy retaliation from India. I wonder if this hasn't been blown out of proportion. The loss of potential profit isn't the same as money being taken out of your account. And now India don't play WI and Pakistan (I think they don't play Zimbabwe or Bangladesh either) so their cricket world keeps shrinking.

Does seem a bit OTT . And their chances of actually getting paid if they win some large sum of damages probably pretty slim.
Sounds like an ambit claim.

Will wait and see.

[Aidan11]

Looks quite heavy retaliation from India. I wonder if this hasn't been blown out of proportion. The loss of potential profit isn't the same as money being taken out of your account. And now India don't play WI and Pakistan (I think they don't play Zimbabwe or Bangladesh either) so their cricket world keeps shrinking.

Does seem a bit OTT . And their chances of actually getting paid if they win some large sum of damages probably pretty slim.
Sounds like an ambit claim.

Will wait and see.

This is why I think they might work out a compromise. It will cost India a fair bit in legal fees to get money that WICB couldn't possibly pay to them. They'll just declare themselves bankrupt and a new separate body will be created to look after WIs cricket.