Criticism by the International Cricket Conference of the statements and actions of the West Indies cricket captain, Darren Sammy and unnamed members of the World T20 champions was predictable.
Firstly, the ICC had to indicate to the cricket world, especially to players, that the ruling body for international cricket was not going to stand idly by and have one of its member associations, i.e., the West Indies Cricket Board, be severely criticised by their players and in full view of the world.
Secondly, the ICC wanted to establish its view that the behaviour of members of the West Indian team “detracted from the success of what was otherwise a magnificent tournament and final." No raining on the ICC parade by the WI players was the intent of that quote.
In acknowledging the apology for the behaviours of the captain and members of the team, the ICC also reached out to its member association, the WICB at the moment it came under fire from the players.
And perhaps it was this apology from the WICB which made the ICC reconsider what it said was its intention to impose fines and bans on WI players as provided for in its code of conduct.
But clearly it would have caused quite an embarrassment for the WICB and ultimately the world cricket body if the regional board had been seen to have sat quietly by and allowed disciplinary action to be taken against its players by the ICC when the most popular view in the region was that the WICB deserved the bashing it received.
With victory sweet in the mouth of long-suffering WI fans they would have rebelled against both the ICC and the WICB for any disciplinary action against their heroes.
Now this newspaper is not supporting all of the actions of the players: certainly not Marlon Samuels going to an international news conference and placing his legs on the table under the excuse that he had on his pads and so was cramped for space under the table.
Surely it would have been easy for Samuels, Man of the Finals, to have taken off his pads and sit properly behind the table to address the international media reporters.
Nonetheless, it is understandable that captain Sammy and team members, seemingly frustrated by gross mishandling, undue and perhaps unfair criticism from many sides. to have wanted to let out their frustrations.
On reflection, some would probably say the captain and certain team members may have gone too far and so played into unsupportive hands.
But there are many who will point out that while quick to bash WI players, the international body has said little and done nothing substantial about the regional cricket board changing the financial terms of West Indies cricketers without adequate consultation.
And, while the ICC was critical of the comments of West Indies cricket captain, in response to a question that he was asked, the international body has been less vocal about the quite obnoxious behaviours consistently displayed all over the cricketing world by Australian and English teams under the euphemism of “sledging”.
There would also be those who would see as not being “cricket” and not in the best interest of the game, the greedy grab for power by the ICC on behalf of the boards of the big three, England, Australia and India to have taken almost complete control of the game and its finances.
The observation may very well be that while the ICC seeks to adopt a position from on high, it too has been criticised for action and inaction to keep the game from falling into disrepute.
Unquestionably, captain Sammy and his team members must feel a sense of justification for their words and actions to have forced a previously unhearing, unseeing and unfeeling board into agreeing to hold a meeting with the players.
It is more than the Caricom prime ministers have been able to achieve in their attempts to have WICB president Cameron and his team leave office.