Tony BeccaIN 1966 when the leaders of West Indies cricket organised the regional tournament they did so for two reasons - to provide an annual stage for the exposure of talent in the territories and to provide a regular quality competition which they hope would make the West Indies team stronger.
Over the years, the tournament has been a tremendous success, and based on the performance of the West Indies team, certainly up to 1995 when its 15-year reign as the undefeated champions of the world ended, no one can deny that - just as they cannot deny the reason for the success.
The reason for the success was the contest involving the territories - the contest which saw each team each year fighting to be crowned champions of the West Indies.
It was even more than that. It was a contest second to none in West Indies sport and national fever ran high during matches such as Barbados versus Jamaica, Guyana versus Trinidad and Tobago, the Leeward Islands versus Jamaica, and with the Windward Islands holding a grudge against them, even when it was the lowly Windward Islands against the mighty Barbados.
Unfortunately the next champions of the West Indies may not be Barbados, it may not be defending champions Jamaica or any team in the West Indies. The next champions of the West Indies may not be a team from the West Indies. In fact, if the West Indies Board has its way, if the West Indies Board is allowed to get away with it, a team from the West Indies may never ever again be champions of the West Indies.
Next year, the champions may well be a team from England, and it will not even be Surrey, or Yorkshire, or Lancashire. It will be entity called England "A", and if the Board is allowed to get away with it, in the years to come, it may also be Australia "A", India "A", or Pakistan "A".
In a release over the weekend, the West Indies Board ruled that next year England "A" will contest the Busta Cup. It also said that in succeeding years, "A" teams from other countries, including Australia, India and Pakistan, will be invited to participate.
According to the Board, it had an obligation to host the England "A" team next year and the heavy regional and international schedule made be impossible to fulfil that obligation any other way.
That is nonsense. There are two reasons.
The Board does have an obligation to host the England "A" team, and the first reason is that it is cheaper if the team plays in the regional competition than if it plays a series of matches against the West Indies "A" and other teams.
The second reason is that the Board, as it also said in the release, believes that the inclusion of "A" teams will be good for West Indies cricket as they will add to the competitiveness and the quality of the tournament.
Apart from the belief that West Indies cricket has little to gain by its teams playing one match against an "A" team, apart from the fact that the "A" teams from England, Australia, India and Pakistan should be too strong for any of the territories, the Busta Cup is a regional tournament, it should be contested by regional teams only, and to go outside the region and bring in the "A" teams of other countries is an insult to the West Indies people.
The Board should understand that there is more than cricket at stake. The Board should understand that there is also national pride at stake.
The regional four-day competition, which was once as good or better than the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia, is for West Indian teams, and it should remain so.
Apart from the fact that the West Indies Board has no responsibility for the development of England's cricket, or Australia's cricket, or India's cricket, or Pakistan's cricket, the champions of the West Indies should be the best team in the West Indies. It should be as simple as that.
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