POWER PLAY

WITH Cricket West Indies (CWI) undergoing major financial restructuring, former Australia captain and two-time World Cup winner Michael Clarke believes the International Cricket Council (ICC), along with India, Australia and England, must urgently step in to help rescue cricket in the Caribbean. Two weeks ago CWI announced a series of changes to tackle their current financial crisis, which was highlighted by the 25 per cent reduction in retainer fees for the West Indies’ men’s and women’s team. Domestic players, including 15 Jamaicans, will also see their contracts cut from 12 months to seven months amid the suspension of the Super 50 tournament and the reduction of the four-day tournament. CWI Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jamaican Chris Dehring, in addressing the changes, said “it is a necessary step towards financial stability”.

Michael Clarke, former Australia skipper

However Clarke, who won the 2007 and 2015 World Cup, believes the top stakeholders of the sport shouldn’t stand by to watch the Windies struggle. “I’m really concerned for West Indies cricket,” he told the Beyond 23 Cricket Podcast. “Honestly, this is where I think, firstly, the ICC, but even if it’s the big three — India, Australia, and England — need to come together to save West Indies cricket,” he said. The 45-year-old Clarke, who scored over 16000 runs across Test and One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in his 11-year career, says he’s always been concerned about the West Indies’ situation for over a decade. “If West Indies are not the lowest-paid nation, they’re in the conversation. I go back to the conversation I had when the IPL started in its first or second year, when Chris Gayle got crit- icism for choosing IPL over West Indies,” he said. “He was the highest-paid West Indies player on 100,000 US dollars a year, 12-month contract. He signed a deal at the IPL for a million dollars US at that week, at that stage, for a four-and-a-half or six-week tournament.

John Campbell (left) of West Indies reverse sweeps as Kusal Mendis of Sri Lanka looks on during the fifth and final day of the second Test match at Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, on July 7, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

How could he say no to that deal? You couldn’t have a go at Chris for making that decision, and he played his backside off for West Indies as well.” Clarke, who scored a century and three half-centuries in 12 Tests against the West Indies, says an immediate intervention is needed to save the current crop of players. “These West Indies players, they’re already getting paid the lowest amount or close to it. [If] you take 25 per cent of their money away how do they not just turn into a franchise player, play five or six different franchises around the world, and say, ‘Unfortunately, we’ll play for the West Indies but we’re not going to sign a central contract’? “You can’t blame them. I just think they need help, and the ICC and the three big nations have just got to find a way, in my opinion.” Former England spinner Monty Panesar, who took 167 in 50 Tests, says the current squad should try their best to prove their worth on the pitch. “Distractions aren’t going to help the West Indies players. And that’s going to be the key thing — how they put that aside and not worry about the payment issues, the financial crisis that West Indies cricket is at the moment,” he said. [They should say,] ‘Let’s grab these opportunities, let’s find a couple of youngsters, a couple of gems from this tour in India, and let’s take on India. Let’s not be afraid of the sort of superstars of Indian cricket, and let’s take on the ecosystem of the media as well.’ “We know Indian media, there’s a hyper focus on how great this Indian team is, how good they are in India, and [yet] look at what Australia did. They beat India in India during the World Cup. That’s the inspiration that West Indies cricket should take to say, as players, let’s make an impact on this tour.” The Windies are currently locked at 1-1 in the five match T20 series against India, following Friday’s impressive six-wicket win. Daren Sammy’s men are coming off a 2-1 ODI series loss to the Indians last week.