1947 Worrell was 'Cheered'-2009 West Indies are 'jeered'

Being an avid and keen follower and supporter of West Indian cricket, it has been extremely disheartening to see the state of West Indian cricket and the team selected to play the first test in the current series against Bangladesh. Many have jeered and blamed the West Indian players for boycotting the test due to unresolved contract issues with the WICB. Some say, they are the nations pride and have no right to go against their country and let them down by not playing. After all there is a great deal of pride involved in wearing the country's colours.However, all said and done, and I do agree to a certain that they are ambassadors of their country and need to behave in a dignified and respectable manner, but one must not forget that THIS IS THEIR LIVELIHOOD. Many cricketers don't have anything to fall back on if things somehow go wrong.This is their job and in a time of recession everyone feels the pinch. They are not even asking for a raise in wages but are merely asking to be paid for previously played series. In 1947, when Sir Frank Worrell boycotted the series against England demanding higher wages he was given a good reception for the cause and cheered and supported on. That was for higher wages.
Which brings me to the debate on right and wrong and also the battle between the WICB and the WIPA(West Indies Players Association) which is led by Dinanath Ramnarine. Firstly one needs to look at what exactly are contracts and how they work. As cricketers are getting more enlightened on the amounts of money 'they' are earning for their boards, most teams moved to the contract system, which stipulates the players would get a certain amount of income a year regardless of injury or a drop in form.I personally feel this is absolutely fair because why should the board members reap all the sponsorship benefits when its the players sweating it out.India, Kenya, Zimbabwe have also faced contract related issues (not strange when u think of the rate of corruption in these countries).
Coming back to the issue, the West Indian players have played five series without contracts. The issue dates as far back as 2004, when the WIPA asked its players not to sign letters from the board for the Australian tour-citing that the board was exploiting players for commercial purposes. A battle between Digicel and Cable&Wireless ensued. Digicel then signed a $20 million contract to become the official sponsor of the test and ODI teams. Two months prior to that C&W became an official sponsor for the 2007 World Cup bring on boards Brian Lara, added Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Omari Banks, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Smith as individual endorsements. In March 2005,a 22 man squad was announced for a test series against SA and Pakistan but the 7 players associated with C&W were left out. In June the board invited 13 players to sign contracts and make themselves available for the tour to Sri Lanka, while it battled with the WIPA over the contentious Clause 5 - that covered players' individual endorsements and central team sponsorships. Only three of those 13 signed the contracts. The following month WICB picked a second-string squad just a day after it seemed it would reach a temporary agreement with the WIPA.
Many issues have arisen since then and threatens of boycotts have always been thwarted at the last instant with the board promising to look into the matter seriously and pay them their dues, but the moment a series is over, its all back to square one. Its hight time the players took a solid stand and went head strong against an ineffective and inefficient board. Panel and court rulings have favoured the players in the past, yet the Board always seems to find a way out. West Indian cricket has always been an exciting prospect with hard hitters and fast bowlers and seem to be enjoyed by the world, but given the current situation one mite not see them excel, let alone see them on the field. It is high time Corruption and Bureaucracy is removed from the game and the 'Gentleman's' game be played as it should be. Id just like to end by asking you, how would you feel if you played five series worth millions in sponsorships, and you get nothing but people sitting on their backsides share the loot?