Former West Indies manager Omar Khan welcomes the CWI’s decision to install a panel of independent professionals to conduct a comprehensive review of the team’s early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia recently.
Accordingly, A three-member group of independent professionals has been named by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to conduct a comprehensive review of the early exit by the West Indies Men’s team from the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Two-time champions West Indies failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 showpiece in Australia after suffering defeats to Scotland and Ireland in the first round.
Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara and Mickey Arthur, who is currently the Derbyshire head of cricket, are part of a three-member panel announced by Cricket West Indies to conduct a review of West Indies’ early exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Justice Patrick Thompson Jr., a High Court Judge at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, will serve as the Chair of the group.
The three-member panel, which has already started its work, “will submit a Report to the CWI Board of Directors, with relevant insight and clear recommendations. It is also intended that this review will establish a process and template for future performance reviews. The Terms of Reference (TOR) will be published,” CWI stated.
Khan supported a thorough post-mortem analysis of the exit of the two-time T20 World Cup winners but said proper application of the recommendations should remain the priority.
“They (CWI) need to do something like that (install panel) but at the end of the day, we have had many instances reviews and investigations have been done, and recommendations made. But the key to it is getting the recommendations implemented in a meaningful way.”
Also speaking further, Khan said that cricket is now a business and administrators, coaches and players need to adopt a new approach for success.
“Cricket is now a business and we have to start implementing business systems and business thinking in terms of how the cricket is being run.”
“We have to change how we run the affairs of the cricket, start implementing things like performance management on players and implement and adhere to strict business systems.”
Although critical of the current state of West Indies cricket, Khan, who also served as TT Red Force manager, offered some suggestions to spark positive change and even offered himself for selection to any committee charged with implementing the recommendations put forward by the panel, following their investigations.
“The development aspect of our players has to be a key component in any recommendation. Our players have to understand they have to become students of the game. They have to start thinking out situations.”
“Even in the coaching staff, they have to embed that kind of thinking in the players. We need to identify the right people to be part of the management team. I am recommending that I be part of that management team.”
“We love to have meetings and reviews but because of our Caribbean culture, the execution is poor. We take years to execute things and when we do so it’s a very slow process. And at that time, everyone else is miles ahead.”
CWI President Ricky Skerritt commented on the selected board,
“I am especially grateful for their commitment to lend some of their valuable time to this important review project.”
“It is vital that players, coaches, administrators, and all of us who love West Indies cricket, recognise that creating a sustainable learning culture, throughout the organization, is a prerequisite for player growth and team improvement.”
“Emotion-based and knee-jerk type decisions have failed CWI repeatedly in the past. I am confident that this independent World Cup review process will produce findings and learnings that should be of great benefit to our cricket system going forward.”