West Indies tour of India (AP Photo)
Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO Chris Dehring has questioned the financial system governing bilateral cricket, explaining how it has contributed to the board’s ongoing financial difficulties.
Despite the West Indies currently playing a T20I series against India, Dehring said the Caribbean board would not receive any revenue from the series, even as the hosts stand to earn millions.The T20I series is level at 2-2 following Shai Hope’s century in Hyderabad. Speaking to The Scoop by Wisden Cricket, Dehring explained that the financial model leaves visiting teams without a share of the broadcasting revenue generated by bilateral matches.
"West Indies cricket receives nothing in this case, because the series is being played in India," said Dehring. "A series that could generate $20 million to $30 million in India brings West Indies cricket no revenue."
How the revenue system changed
Dehring traced the problem back to 1997, when nine of the 10 ICC member countries voted to change cricket’s financial model. Before that decision, host nations generally paid visiting teams a guaranteed fee, which sometimes earned the West Indies more than hosting matches at home.
"To understand how this happened, you have to go back to 1997," he added. "I was fortunate, or unfortunate, to be around when the ICC member countries voted to change the financial model that underpinned world cricket. Until then, West Indies was a very attractive team, and everybody wanted us to tour. We would receive a touring fee, which was often worth more than we could earn by hosting a series in the Caribbean."
Under the revised system, the country hosting a bilateral series could retain all the revenue generated from its broadcasting rights.
Dehring argued that this created a major imbalance between countries with large audiences and smaller cricketing nations."That meant India could retain the revenues generated by a population of one and a half billion people, while West Indies could retain whatever revenues we could generate in Antigua, with its population of around 100,000, or St Kitts, with around 30,000," Dehring continued."It was palpably unfair. We were outvoted nine to one by the ICC member countries. At the time, I said that this decision had effectively signed the demise of West Indies cricket because it took away our main source of income," he added.