Chanderpaul questions Hilaire’s comments

Guyana and West Indies middle order batsman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has responded to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) reported allegations of indiscipline that was disclosed as a reason for him being dropped from the team allegedly through Espncricinfo.com.

Below is the full text of Chanderpaul’s response, which was sent to the WICB Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Ernest Hilaire, and copied to the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony:

Dear Sir,

I note with considerable surprise and disappointment statements in www.espncricinfo.com on April 26, 2011, attributed to you in the context of what the ESPN website describes as your defence of changes in the present West Indies team and my omission from the team.

The report states (inter alia):

Hilaire defended the wholesale changes in the side – apart from Gayle, other seniors like Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have also been left out – saying it was done with the intention of sparking a revival in the team’s fortunes.

“If you look at West Indies Cricket since the mid-90s a lot of the systems we had in place broke down,” Hilaire said. “There’s no discipline, there’s no application.

We’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve been losing. We need to put a new system in place. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar (that) he can decide if he is training today, if he’s going to have treatment tomorrow, if he’s going to attend a team meeting. It cannot work that way.”
I am particularly concerned about the following statements:

1. There’s no discipline, there’s no application.

2. No one man is bigger than the team, no one man is such a superstar he can decide if he is training today, if he’s going to have treatment tomorrow, if he’s going to attend a team meeting.

I am of the opinion that anyone reading these comments in the specific context will conclude that:

1. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, am an indisciplined individual and during my tenure as a West Indies player over the past fifteen years have lacked discipline and contributed to the West Indies team losing.

2. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul have not applied myself or demonstrated any real application to my role as a member of the West Indies team over the past fifteen years and by so doing have contributed to the West Indies team losing.

3. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, consider myself to be bigger than the team.

4. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was training or not training.

5. I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have decided when I was going to attend or not attend team meetings.

6. (Based on the accusations above) I, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, while a member of the West Indies team during the past fifteen years, have disregarded the coaches and managerial staff or undermined team discipline by my actions and attitude.

I would like an explanation of these statements specifically:

1. Were they made by you and in what capacity?

2. If they were made by you, I note that you constantly use the word “we” in the excerpt above. I would like to know if this is a “royal we” or, in other words, are you speaking for yourself, albeit as CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board or are you speaking for and on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board itself? This is important to me since I believe I have served the WICB and West Indies Cricket faithfully and well during my career and it would be difficult for me to accept that the Members of the Board of Directors of West Indies Cricket have sanctioned those remarks.

3. On what basis have you made those statements and with what purpose? I would like you to treat this matter as urgent since it is my firm belief that you may have brought my reputation as an international cricketer and a loyal servant of West Indies Cricket into question and disrepute.

I am convinced that those persons who do not know the sacrifices I have made on behalf of West Indies Cricket and my dedication to the cause of West Indies Cricket would believe, based on what you have said to ESPN and others who have carried that interview with you, that I lack discipline and application and have not demonstrated the sense of responsibility which I know that I have shown throughout my career.

While I would refer you to my unblemished reputation for professionalism and to all the other CEOs, Coaches and Managers with whom I have worked, I believe that you have crossed the line by making these public accusations that, while they may include others, are also directed at me and if unchallenged and corrected may destroy my career.

I must warn you that unless your explanations adequately deal with the matter and show themselves to be based on truth and free of malice, I will take whatever action necessary to clear my good name. While it would help if the WICB as an organization repudiates your comments in this regard, it would still not be sufficient to erase the tremendous damage already done.

I await your urgent response and reserve all of my rights in this matter.

Respectfully,
Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Source: Kaieteur News