Former Sports Minister Luke Browne Blames Poor Management for Decline in West Indies Cricket

Former Minister of Sports and ULP candidate for East Kingstown said that the state of West Indies cricket is due to poor management. Speaking on the “ULP Speaks” program on Tuesday, Luke Browne said, as the debate continues following the embarrassing collapse of the West Indies team being dismissed for 27—their lowest score ever—many persons have been weighing in on the team’s performance over the years.

Browne emphasized that he is not only referring to the 27 all out. “We also have to look at the 3–0 loss to Bangladesh in December. We didn’t just hear about that—we saw it for ourselves,” he said. “Additionally, West Indies has now dropped out of automatic qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Only the top 10 teams qualify, and West Indies is no longer among them. So we’re not only talking about Test cricket—we’re talking about all formats.”

He noted that the President of CWI, Dr. Kishore Shallow, suggested that one of the problems is the lack of investment by regional governments. However, Browne said that this has been debunked by several persons, including former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley, who said: “It is not for a lack of investment or development, but a lack of management, which is the major problem in West Indies cricket—and that is the point we should bear in mind.”

Browne went further in criticizing the management, quoting former West Indies captain Brian Lara, who said: “Most players are not loyal to West Indies cricket but to franchise cricket, and are using West Indies cricket as a stepping stone to franchise cricket.”

Browne added: “We might say the board is powerless, but I think there’s something simple that can be done. Let us look at the retirement of Nicholas Pooran, who retired at the ripe old age of 29. He basically did that to play franchise cricket exclusively. Pooran is a star player. He retired from international cricket, and having done that, CWI decided to send him off with fanfare—as if he was a hero to West Indies cricket.”

He continued: “Now we begrudge Pooran for seeking to maximize income opportunities within the small horizon of professional sports. But Cricket West Indies didn’t have to celebrate that. You could wish him well on his retirement, but by sending him off with celebration, you are sending the wrong message. You’re showing that we are not trying to keep our best players available to us—and that is a management problem.”