Team selection should be free of discrimination, says May
Tim May, the CEO of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA), rebuked the West Indies Cricket board's (WICB) decision to drop seven players including the likes of Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan from the side, and has urged the
Cricinfo staff
11-Mar-2005
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"International sport is about the best competing against the best and it demands discrimination-free selection policies," May is quoted as saying by Caribbeancricket.com. "There is an obligation to select the best possible representative side and not to preclude players from selection just because they have bona fide endorsement obligations to a competitor of the team sponsor."
The board axed the seven players for the series against South Africa and Pakistan, owning to conflict in the players individual contracts with Cable and Wireless and contract of the team sponsor Digicel. May added, "I do not wish to comment on the specific details of negotiations that have taken place over the past few months as I have not been directly involved in them. However, I will comment on one of the fundamental pillars of international sport and the game of cricket that appears to have been ignored by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
"It is an incredibly sad day when a country bases its selection policy on players' personal sponsorship contracts with commercial organisations rather than ability."
He also said that the commercial sponsors of cricket, who are a critical part of the financing of the game, should never dictate the players selection. "The West Indies cricket team belongs to the people of the West Indies. It does not belong to a commercial sponsor."
May also hoped that the West Indies board could take positive actions to avoid any further dilution of the value of West Indies cricket.