Following the just concluded games in St Lucia, the CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) spoke to the STAR about the long stand-off between cricketer Chris Gayle and the board.
Hilaire confirmed that Chris Gayle, the former West Indies captain, has signed a CARICOM-brokered agreement with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), but with a ‘side-letter’; the contents of which are yet to be disclosed.
“Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves (of St Vincent) provided a copy of Gayle’s ‘side letter,’” he said. “The matter was discussed and the board will respond to the Prime Minister shortly.”
The WICB CEO says the impasse between star batsman Chris Gayle and WICB is not yet over.
“The matter has not been resolved and he is not yet available for selection. The contents of the ‘side letter’ are now being negotiated and discussed and until that can be resolved then the matter in totality is not resolved because signing but then sending a ‘side letter’ is not signing without conditions. Therefore, the conditions must be discussed and negotiated and when it is completed, then one can say, he can now be available for selection,” said Hilaire.
Meanwhile, the CEO expressed much confidence in St Lucia’s Darren Sammy as the leader of the Windies cricket team. He says such leadership qualities has molded this team together and brought about an enthusiastic and determined team which showed much fight against the world’s number one team in the recent One Day Internationals.
“There are two dimensions to Darren Sammy in the team. One is that of a player and second is that of a captain. It has always been acknowledged that as a captain, he is probably the best option that exists right now with his whole discipline, commitment and his whole approach to cricket has distinguished him from the rest.
“There have been question marks in some quarters about his performance and whether he ought to have a place in the team in the first place and sometimes you need to find out, certainly as a selector or an administrator “in the game, what priority do you give. Do you want a team of stars and no leadership and it does not win as a team or do you want a team that may not have the best stars but can win as a team because they have all the ingredients of a team. Darren as captain has brought certain characteristics that are needed right now and you can see it in the team,” explained Hilaire.
He further noted that the West Indies captain has proven to be a valuable player in the team with his improved performance with the bat this season adding that it would be difficult not to include Sammy on the team even if he is not the captain.
With many rumours circulating about Hilaire’s intention to join the ranks of the St Lucia Labour Party and possibly succeed Dr Kenny Anthony as the leader of the party, the STAR asked about the CEO’s intentions to enter into politics.
“I’ve always been involved in the student movement and the youth movement and I’ve always been involved in the St Lucia Labour Party.
“I am a member of the St Lucia Labour Party and if you just look at my involvement in the community organizations and in politics, it would be fair to assume that probably the pathway is set for one
to be involved in politics.
“At the right time those decisions will be made, however, I don’t think you can ever arrogate the right to believe people will accept you in politics . . . hopefully is all the factors converge, I may very well be in politics.You don’t enter into politics to be prime minister or anything of that sort. You enter to serve and if you serve well, people will want you to now lead but that is entirely premature to say that I am entering to lead the party.”
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