 Welcome back to the Sports Max Zone, president of the Barbados Cricket Association. Condé Riley has been issued a written reprimand by the president of Cricket West Indies, Dr. Kishore Shallow. The letter dated the 5th of October 2023 documented Dr. Shallow's disappointment with Riley over his failure to fulfill his fiduciary duties as a CWI director. Dr. Shallow also cited Riley's failure to assume and execute his role as chair of the CWI Non-Objection Certificate Committee. However, chief among Riley's list of transgressions is what the CWI president described as an inaccurate public statement on the Mason and Guest radio program that Kensington Oval was awarded the final of next year's T20 Cricket World Cup. Now, despite the written reprimand issued to Riley, the CWI indicated it would not take any further action at this time. Regional Cricket Commentator and Analyst, Fazir Mohamed, now joins us to make some sense of this story. Faz, what do you make of this? We have to say at the start that Condé Riley was in Dave Cameron's corner in the elections in 2019 when Cameron stood for the presidential challenge against Ricky Skerritt and Dr. Kishore Shallow, so there has been on separate sides of the fence from day one. This advances that story based on what we are hearing now. Well, you know, Lance, I have to disappoint you this afternoon because, one, I really can't make sense of this, because this is distraction with dotation. Really? I mean, let's put it in context, Lance. Look at the state of West Indies Cricket. Isn't this paramount? And if you allow me 45 seconds to give you an analogy, let's say Jamaica's track and field contingent goes to Paris next year and comes back with not just without a medal, but without an athlete reaching the final. And it emerges that they wore puma when they legally were supposed to wear Adidas or Nike that they stayed in Sandini when they should have been staying in Longchamp. And that becomes the biggest issue. Do you think the people will really care about that? So this thing about Condé Riley making noise about Barbida supposed to be getting the final and saying otherwise and all of that and so many other matters. This is a mere diversion from the fact that these same individuals who are happy to use the word fiduciary have abandoned their fiduciary responsibility of ensuring that West Indies Cricket is able to regain the status we once enjoyed for a very long time. So I understand the point that you're making that I'm not trying to trivialize it, but let's just say, OK, fine. Let's say that Condé Riley has proven wrong, apologizes, goes on bended knee, put the stale between his legs and goes to the next meeting and kisses every foot inside. How does that in any way change the status of West Indies Cricket? Well, knowing Condé, I'm not thinking that is likely to happen. But the accusations coming from CWI president, Dr. Kishore Shallow is pretty extensive. He went as far as to suggest that in the no objective objection certificate meetings, he as chair of the committee, Condé Riley, was aloof and didn't really act as chairman and behaved in a manner of almost disinterest. And that among several other things warranted this letter, which, by the way, appeared to have been leaked because I don't think it was put out officially from any party. And are we supposed to assume that this was an accidental leak? I mean, come on, we'll be in this business long enough to know that this was deliberate, whether by whom we don't know we can't prove anything. But again, you talk about those issues, and I'm glad that you referenced the issue that Condé Riley was not on the side of Ricky Skerrie, was not on the side of Kishore Shallow in 2019, because you know that has to be part of the issue because essentially this is what Caribbean cricket is all about. It's about scoring points. It's about vindictiveness. It's about vendettas. It's about trying to embarrass someone. And all the while we see where West Indies cricket is at. Even that letter, I mean, the last paragraph of that letter talks about the sterling reputation of cricket West Indies. Well, I know the pound sterling has been losing value, but I didn't think the value had gone down to zero that you could use the word sterling. I don't think anybody with any sense in West Indies cricket or knows West Indies cricket would ever use the word sterling to talk about the reputation of cricket West Indies. So these are people living in a fantasy world. Are you surprised that Condé Riley hasn't responded in any way, shape or form? Well, I suppose I should say yet, because, you know, again, when these things crop up, they are always legal represent. There's always legal representation. There's always consultation with lawyers and so on. For example, the issue with the guy on a cricket board and so on, who have been involved with the lawyers for a decade, the validity of the organization and so on. When these things crop up and people start to fight over the minutiae of these specific details and who misrepresented the issue and so on. Yes, it's important in the legal context, but how many times last have we seen legal matters go dragging on for years for even decades with no resolution and people go on with their lives. They go on with different things. So yes, it offers a bit of sensationalism, especially as Mariah alluded to the very calm measure tone of Kishore Shallow compared to what we got in that letter. But again, the purely accidental leak of it to the media presents a different perspective. So again, my question is, if Condé Riley was right or wrong, if Kishore Shallow is right or wrong, if anybody with any dispute in my students cricket is right or wrong, what difference does that make? What because that's why I think we temporarily lost a fax there, Mariah, but another issue with regard to the story about him breaking the news that Kensington Oval is already the decided host for the T20 final next year. My understanding is that the Barbados Tourism Inc. has already made that announcement as well. So I'm wondering if it is a case of it has been recommended or a decision has been made, but it is yet to be ratified, which is still to come. Even even today, we got or yesterday, we got the story from the IOC that cricket is among the new sports proposed for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. And that is already out there. And the narrative is suggesting that it is expected to be ratified as an IOC session or meeting in Mumbai next week. But until it is ratified by the IOC, it isn't gospel. That cricket will be a part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. So I'm wondering if the IOC has awarded provisionally Kensington Oval the final, but it has to go to the other stage of being ratified. And this could be Kishore Shallow's point that Condé Reilly's pronouncement is premature. Yeah. And that's where I think the issue is because, Lance, we sit in meetings and we make decisions, but we don't go out and say it to the team unless we decide that this is what we're going to share with them. So I think the issue in this case is that the news were presented or leaked very prematurely, as in they were not the public was not supposed to know as yet. And then coming from somebody like B.C.A. President Condé Reilly, who holds such a high position where cricket, West Indies and cricket is concerned. I think that's where the issue is coming from. It's not like it's just a regular man on the street or, you know, a rumor. It's coming from the B.C.A. boss. So, of course, people are going to take it seriously. And maybe the point at which the information was presented. People were not supposed to know yet. So I think that could be one of the situations that we consider. Maybe they have their meetings, CWI President, Vice President, everybody, and they felt as if they didn't get the opportunity to tell the public when they wanted. And now they're hearing this. It's upsetting. Yeah. Well, Fuzz is back on the line. You were finishing a point there, Fuzz, on this issue. Yeah, basically. And I apologize because I don't know what is going on with my connection. But maybe it's very much it's just a sterling service that I'm getting as far as my internet connection. But the point I'm making, Lance, is that we spend a lot of time on these legalities and these particular matters. But surely the fundamental concern is the welfare of West Indies and I'm arguing the irrelevance of these points on the basis that whichever way you look at, however you slice it or dice it, none of this makes any meaningful, positive difference to the welfare of West Indies cricket. And Fuzz, every time something goes wrong in West Indies cricket, the instant reaction, of course, is to come down on the players, come down on the coaches. And we do know how CWI elections goes. Of course, you know, they change after some time. But do you think that based on what we're seeing from these different leaders, it's something it's a major cause for concern? And maybe it's also a part of the problem that we're having in the overall state of West Indies cricket. Mariah, this has been a concern in West Indies cricket before you were born, before your parents were born. It's an issue that has been going on for a very, very long time. And again, this we deserve this. We have brought this on ourselves because in the same way that people get political leadership that deserve, we are the Caribbean who call ourselves cricket people or cricket representatives or cricket fans or whatever. We have allowed this to happen because of our very passive nature and our polarised way of looking at things and just to reinforce the point, the outgoing president of cricket West Indies, Ricky Skerritt, in March of this year, in his farewell statement, said, let me quote it for you. He says, I see the signs that better days are not far ahead. Be assured that my tenure at CWI is ending with an outlook for the future that is stronger than ever. What more confirmation do you need that all of these statements and posturing and whatever else is about self-aggrandisement? It's about putting forward a narrative that couldn't be further from the truth. And again, it bears repeating that in this modern time, it's seven before, of course, but in this modern era, the truth doesn't matter. The facts don't matter because once you have that influence of putting out peddling a particular narrative and getting people to feed into it, it becomes the truth to many who would like to believe it. So to answer your specific question, Mariah, I'm not any greater level. I don't have any greater level of concern about the administration of West Indies cricket than what I would have had 20, 30, 40 years ago. Right. And I also want to get your thoughts on Lance and I were discussing when your network went down, your thoughts on the fact that B.C.A. boss, Condir Ailey went on a radio program and informed the people that Barbados would be hosting the final. You know, of course, that is also an issue. So much so that the C.W.I. boss also included it in the letter. Your thoughts. Again, it's merely a continuation of the same point. Condir Ailey seems to have an axe to grind with the president administration and vice versa. This particular issue. And again, Mariah, the point is if he had spoken out of tune, if he had gone ahead of proper protocol, there's a way to deal with it. These individuals are quick to reference proper procedure and fiduciary this and fiduciary that and the other and so on. But again, let's let's let's take this a bit further. Barbados is actually awarded the final. OK, fine. That's Barbados is not awarded the final. It goes to Guyana or goes to Trinidad and Tobago. Again, what difference does that make? You might say, you know, the way it's being presented, the washing of dirty linen in public. It makes West Indies Cricket a laughing stock. Can it be more of a laughing stock? No, than at any other point, even without the intervention of a Condir Ailey, a Kishore Shallow or Ricky Skerritt. Yeah, before we wrap, though, I want to put this on the table because if if Dr. Kishore Shallow as president of Cricket West Indies is seeing a situation developing in his administration that he is he's not happy with, isn't he in his right to to set things straight? Because one of the biggest problems in West Indies Cricket, as we all know, is the divisiveness that has permeated West Indies Cricket for decades. And he has in Condir Ailey, a part of his directorship, that has never supported him. So what is so wrong with Kishore Shallow trying to ensure that he has some harmony and fixity of purpose in the direction of his administration, if he sees where there's someone who, for whatever reason, is not performing at the level that he should making the statement in the strong way that he did. 100 percent correct on principal lands. Yes. But I am not involved in human relations and personal management sort of issue. But then if you make something public, and I'm not saying this was done by Kishore Shallow or any of his lemmings or whatever. What I'm saying is why is it public? Why this this matter suddenly accidentally leaks into the public domain? But it's hard for us to address that fast because we're not sure how that happened. Well, exactly. We are all supposed to assume that it happened accidentally. A strong wind blew through factory road and the letter flew off the desk and ended up somewhere out in the street. The point is we play games with these things and you're right. An individual who is a leader is supposed to galvanize support, create harmony, deal with issues where there's friction and so on. How does this know it's in the public domain the way it is and the manner in which the language that has been used? How does this in any way, shape or form create a greater level of either harmony or cooperation within the innards of cricket westerlies? Well, I guess he didn't carry it to the logical position that he has put. Eventually, it seems as if shallow would wish to have Condi O'Reilly not be a part of the directorship of cricket West Indies. But that didn't come out specifically in the letter. But let's see what happens. But Fazz, stay with us because we're still going to talk some West Indies cricket. Again, chaotic a story from the Guyana cricket board wanting as ambassador at the vice president out of the vice presidential seat because they were unhappy with the process of the voting back in March. Fazer joins us in the next segment when we return.