Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams: “Chris isn’t saying anything that a lot of international cricketers aren’t thinking.”

The notion of Julian Hunte asking for anyone’s resignation is just laughable.

Fazeer Mohammed thinks Chris Gayle should resign the West Indies captaincy immediately:

Take nothing away from the fact that, on the field, he has made a definite positive difference since, ironically, the one-day series on the last tour of England two years ago. But if that’s how he feels, Gayle should do West Indies cricket a favour and step down now. Yes, right now, and let someone else represent the tourists at this morning’s media conference ahead of the second and final Test starting tomorrow in Chester-le-Street.

In the Guardian interview, Gayle just sounded tired and burnt out. I think he needs a long, real vacation.

West Indies head coach John Dyson is clearly unhappy with Chris Gayle’s decision to delay his arrival in England while playing one more IPL game:

“I just have to work with that,” he said. “We thought the original NOC was the barest minimum but you just have to work with what happens. Our board considered that an extra day or two didn’t matter so that’s that. It’s one of the things these days that you have to work with.

“We all knew the IPL was on and we knew the players would be arriving when they have. Ideally you would have your full squad here, but you have to work with how it is. Medical guys say you need time to recover from flights, coaches say you need practice and then you get players saying they can handle not doing that. I suppose time will tell.”

In a rare interview, Shivnarine Chanderpaul opens up about a lot of things in his life, including his reaction of Kevin Pietersen’s criticism:

There are few subjects that will shake Chanderpaul out of his private world, but Kevin Pietersen is one of them. The two batsmen are polar opposites – ­Pietersen loves the limelight, Chanderpaul detests “glamour”; Pietersen loves to take risks, Chanderpaul would rather stay at the crease. They meet again at Lord’s on Wednesday as England take on West Indies. At the mention of KP, ­Chanderpaul’s face grows very dark. On the recent West Indies tour Pietersen took a swipe at him, accusing him of “playing for himself”. It was a comment that Chanderpaul did not take lightly.

“You can’t assume or think someone’s just playing for themselves. I don’t know where he gets his stories from … I can’t be playing for myself when I’m in Trinidad trying to save a match. Scoring 140 and I’m playing for myself?” Chanderpaul’s expression is one of utter disgust.

Did Pietersen’s comment make him angry? “What he said just motivated me more. It definitely made me better at what I was doing. If people come at me I just want to make sure that I can be out there even longer. You get angry and you just want to grind somebody out there longer, that’s how I do my job.” ­Chanderpaul folds his arms, his outburst a rare moment of expression.

Tino Best: “I don’t want to disrespect Daren Powell, but he is looking a bit tired and that is my spot. It would be great to run in with Fidel [Edwards] again.”

Tony Cozier, in his Sunday column yesterday called for the WICB President Julian Hunte and CEO Donald Peters to resign. We all agree but I note, again, how light Cozier is going on his Bajan homeys Tony Howard and Roland Holder. Their positions are ALL untenable. They ALL need to go. Every single one of them. No other option is acceptable. This is a renewed call for a complete removal of all responsible parties. Howard and Holder screwed up big time and there was no oversight from Peters and Hunte.

Tony Cozier on commentary while nigthwatchman Daren Powell was batting: “Good intelligent cricket by Daren Powell”.

Has that ever been said before?

With regard to the Sir Viv Richards Stadium debacle Chris Gayle, at the toss in this new Test match at the ARG said “these things happen”.

I suspect that it is not that Gayle is excusing the WICB but he does not expect any better from them. They have degenerated into such a pathetic lot that Gayle thinks they are capable of no better.

That is how far we have fallen. And yet, the beat goes on…

Are you embarrassed and disgusted by the sand pit fiasco? Express yourself:

Tony Howard, WICB cricket operations officer: thoward@windiescricket.com

Donald Peters, WICB chief executive officer: dpeters@windiescricket.com

Julian Hunte, president of WICB: jhunte@windiescricket.com

Write early, write often!

TONY HOWARD, Chief Cricket Operations Manager, WICB:

JULIAN HUNTE, President, West Indies Cricket Board:

DONALD PETERS, Chief Executive Officer, WICB:

The WICB president speaks but, as expected, he isn’t about to resign for yesterday’s fiasco:

WICB president Julian Hunte described yesterday’s events as an “embarrassment” and apologised to “everyone on behalf of the board”.

He said the “West Indies Cricket Board takes full responsibility for the fiasco”.

What he refused to say, however, was that there was reason for him to step down. Asked if he would consider his position given what had occurred under his watch he said: “I would not have thought so.”

* And the beat goes on…

The Jamaica Observer editorial is uncompromising as it paints the bleak picture of West Indies cricket in the hands of the goons who run the WICB.

We are not here seeking to absolve the Antigua Cricket authorities, whose role here is nothing short of scandalous.

But ultimately, 11 years on from that disgraceful episode at Sabina Park, the WICB - dysfunctional to its very core - must take the blame.

This latest disaster comes on the heels of a long list of foul-ups and bunglings on the part of the organisation charged with the leadership and management of West Indies cricket.

The consequence has been a complete loss of respect and trust from players, the public, business partners and the international cricket fraternity.

Tony Cozier seems uncharacteristically reserved in his assessment of the Antigua farce.

Yesterday’s fiasco here presented the latest, most dramatic explanation for the sudden decline of West Indies cricket, from its unprecedented excellence of the 1980s to the mediocrity of the past two decades.

It was yet another example of the mismanagement that has undermined a game that once elevated a small, impoverished and otherwise insignificant part of the world from third- to first-world status.

Its timing has been most inopportune, coming immediately after the West Indies’ most significant victory in years. In less than a week, a shadow has been cast over the euphoria of Sabina Park. It should not have come to this.

There had been repeated problems with the outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium since it was one of the expensive new grounds constructed for the 2007 World Cup.

It was sited, against repeated advice from locals, in a basin near a well-known water course. As everywhere else, an elaborate draining system was installed yet, as forecast, water from overnight rain collected on parts of the outfield and disrupted two matches.

It meant remedial work had to be done on the offending areas. Without any trial, a Test against Australia was again assigned to the ground last season. Once more, parts of the outfield became a bog and almost a full day’s play was lost in a drawn match, in spite of hot, sunny weather.

The warning signals were not heeded by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). It assigned the England Test on the word of the Antigua authorities that all would be right on the day. It apparently didn’t think it necessary to monitor just what was planned. It knew it involved tons and tons of sand, a commodity readily available from Antigua’s famed 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. What it did not bother to check was whether the beach for the leap year would be located on the outfield, as it would have with a proper trial.

Those who turned up at the ground a few days ago immediately recognised that these were not suitable conditions for Test cricket.

Several were willing to wager sizeable sums that it would be abandoned but they could get no takers from those wary, if not quite as confident.

It was the same in Kingston in 1998 when Tony Howard, the Barbados team manager now, coincidentally, a WICB operative, reported after a preceding inter-island match that the pitch at Sabina Park was too dangerous for Test cricket. It took only 10.1 overs to justify his concern.

It is worth noting as well how Cozier studiously avoids laying blame on Howard who had direct responsibility for providing an adequate venue and is the man who must be hauled over the coals. Is this Cozier being somewhat disingenuous and protecting his Bajan homey?