London, September 04: The West Indies Cricket Board’s decision of sending a sub-standard team to the Champions Trophy has drawn the ire of Tim May.
May, who is the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricket Associations (FICA), said that the WICB decision devalued the Trophy, and also voiced concerns on the team that was slated to tour Australia later.
“I would suggest that the West Indies’ insistence on picking a third-rate side devalues that tournament [the Champions Trophy] and that pain is going to be shared by the rest of the cricketing nations. I’d also suggest they are in breach of their agreement with the ICC, which says they must pick their best-available team,” May told The Age newspaper.
“When they take their team abroad and treat the Champions Trophy as no more than a bargaining chip in their negotiations, then I think we have got some problems. The Australian tour is coming up later this year and there is no indication that the West Indies Cricket Board are going to select their best team and, in fact if they did, my understanding is a significant number of the West Indies players would refuse to come because they have had enough of the West Indies Cricket Board and how they have treated the players.”
West Indies are scheduled for Tests in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and Cricket Australia is hopeful the matter will be resolved well before then.
“The series against the West Indies is almost three months away and we have had no indications to suggest that we will not be playing Test, one-day and Twenty20 cricket this summer,” a spokesman said yesterday.
—–Agencies