Tony Becca

Some time today, Ken Gordon will be numbered among the ex-presidents of the West Indies Cricket Board, except there is a late and stunning surprise, Julian Hunte will become the new president, and cricket fans are hoping, are praying, that after a few years of fighting involving the board, the players' association, and the players, after a year or so of madness during which the fans have become totally fed up with what is going on, some sanity will return to West Indies cricket.

That, however, seems as far away as the east is from the west, and especially so following the attack on Bruce Aanensen, the chief executive officer of the board by Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the players' association, the attack by Gordon on Ramnarine, and yesterday's broadside by Bruce Aanensen on Ramnarine.

Just over a week ago, Ramnarine, after saying that he had received a letter from the players complaining about Aanensen's behaviour during the tour of England, wrote a letter to Gordon saying that he cannot work with Aanensen and that the CEO should be asked to resign, a few days later, Gordon wrote a letter to Ramnarine accusing him of being immature, of abusing board members, and suggesting that he changes his ways, and yesterday Aanensen came out firing from the hip.

In an explosion that could have far-reaching effects, Aanensen suggested that the letter which Ramnarine said he got from the players accusing him, Aanensen, of criticising the team was written not by the players but by Ramna-rine himself. He went on to say that that "kind of action is dangerous, malicious and dishonest", and there is no doubt about that.

When it comes to being dangerous and malicious, however, so too could Aanensen's claim as to who really wrote the letter, which Ramnarine claims was written by the players. If Aanensen is right, that it was Ramnarine who wrote it, God help West Indies cricket. If, however, he is wrong, God help Aanensen.

The way things have been going in West Indies cricket this could end up in court.

Heavy-handed approach

Looking at the manner in which he went about fulfilling his role as the president of the board, and especially so his heavy-handed approach towards increasing the number of board members and towards the selection of Brian Lara as the captain, his opposition towards Ramnaresh Sarwan as the captain and towards Christopher Gayle's appointment when Sarwan was injured, Gordon was a disappointment. He created a lot of the problems and because of that there is a prayer on the lips of every West Indian as they welcome Hunte.

The prayer is that in the interest of West Indies cricket, good sense will prevail, that Hunte, as the leader of West Indies cricket, will be firm but understanding, will appreciate the opinion of others, will respect the players and those who represent them, will respect the fans who pay to see the players in action, and most importantly that he will appreciate the insularity that affects West Indies cricket and deal with it as best he can.

Performance the key

West Indies cricket is like nothing else West Indian. To the majority of West Indians, what is right and what is wrong with West Indies cricket, like the captain, what makes a president a good one and what makes a president a bad one depends on the performance of the West Indies team, and if Hunte realises that, if he appreciates that he is not the master but simply the servant of the people and is there to work for cricket - to develop the game, to develop the players on the field, off the field, and financially, to put out a strong West Indies team and to spread the wealth as far as the schools and especially the clubs are concerned, the better are his chances of succeeding.

Gordon, the man who, according to reports, not only called a special meeting of his executive to agree to a new deal between the West Indies board and sponsors Digicel just over a week ago, but who also did so just two weeks before stepping down as president of the board, and with the board split down the middle, also after making the casting vote was a man who, obviously, believed in himself and no one else.

Gordon, apparently, was a law onto himself. Hunte, hopefully, will not be.

Ramnarine is not the smoothest of operators. Based on the tone of some of his letters and some of his words, he can sometimes test one's faith. Based on the tone of some of their letters, however, based on the tone of some of their words, the board is no better. In fact, as the leader, it is worse, much worse, and hopefully, Hunte can change all that.

As the leader, he is the one to set the example, and without giving up his responsibility, his authority to run West Indies cricket, hopefully he will be so good that he and his board, the players association, and the players can respect each other, can come together, and can work together in the interest of West Indies cricket.

There is absolutely no reason why what has happened in Australia and what is happening in South Africa cannot happen in the West Indies.