January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Straight off the bat / A player's perspective

BCB and players need to call a truce


By Lionel Cann- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

It was no surprise to anyone to see how we struggled to get a team on the pitch for this week's match with Uganda.

The relationship between the players and the board is at an all-time low. The BCB has treated certain players harshly in the past and now they don't want to play for them anymore.

A lot of the players like Dion Stovell, Delyone Borden, Chris Foggo have been very strictly dealt with for past indiscretions and there is still bad blood.

A lot of the guys are very close and that filters through, so you've got a situation where most of the best players in the country don't want to play for the national team.

I know Chris Foggo was called up in the end, but why is the best opener in Bermuda not on the team sheet to begin with? Landro Minors and Chris Foggo should be first choice for Bermuda. How do you pick a squad of only 13 players and only go to them when you are in a desperate situation two days before the match?

It's time for a truce between the players and the board.

There is a lot of talent in the Under-19s but a lot of them aren't quite ready for international cricket yet. There's a generation of players aged between 23 and 27, who could be the core of our squad for the next four years.

But too many of them aren't playing. We have been too quick to disregard anyone who gets in a bit of trouble. We are so quick to penalize them. If the ICC gives them a two-match ban we turn round and give them a six-match ban on top of that or send them home from a tour.

It happened to me when I was sent home from Dubai.

It happened to Chris Foggo when he had his drug charge and was never picked again.

It happened to Delyone Borden when he had his pay dispute with the board and was not picked to go to South Africa.

In all those cases the players were in the wrong. But we can't hold it against them indefinitely.

They didn't have to add an extra ban for me when the ICC had already dealt with it. When the situation happened with Chris they all said we'll stand by him and support him, but that didn't happen. And Delyone's situation could have been avoided all along if they had just sorted his pay out properly from the start.

Whether you agree with me or not, this situation can't go on. We can't continue to have the best players not representing their country. We can't continue to disregard our best players when they make a mistake. The first thing that needs to happen is for the players to meet with the executive and talk this out.

Then we need a players' union to represent the interests of the guys on contracts, disciplinary hearings and terms and conditions of playing for the national team. I'm working right now on setting that up and you'll be hearing more about it in this column soon.

There needs to be compromise on both sides and there needs to be a truce on both sides. We need to improve the relationship between the players and the board and make sure we get our best XI on the pitch every time we play international cricket.

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