“Every club will want to belong to USACA”
- John Aaron, Candidate for Secretary
John Aaron has been described by former West Indies Cricket Board President Ken Gordon, as “a true statesman.” More recently, ICC’s Chief Executive Malcolm Speed described his views on direction of USACA as “very impressive.” He is the recipient of several academic and civic awards including the prestigious New York University’s Prism Award for outstanding alumni.
Mr. Aaron is not only highly regarded as a cricket administrator, but is known to many of DreamCricket’s readers as a passionate writer.
DreamCricket interviewed John Aaron, who is the candidate for Secretary in the USACA elections to be held on March 29, 2008.
DreamCricket: John, firstly, and perhaps in the interest of full disclosure, I must thank you for writing your columns for DreamCricket on issues pertaining to USA cricket. And I want to take this opportunity to go on record - I want our readers to know that you have written your columns for DreamCricket.com without any monetary expectation. That is just an illustration of how deeply you care about USA cricket.
Although, we know who the best candidates are in the election, your candidacy for Secretary is one DreamCricket would have no hesitation in openly endorsing - having known you for the last two years, I cannot think of a better qualified person for the job.
We think it is USA cricket’s good fortune that you have offered to translate your thoughts and words into actions through your candidacy for USACA Secretary.
John Aaron: I am flattered by your very kind sentiments. In life I believe we are all gifted with special talents. How we use those talents defines who we are and the content of our character. I enjoy writing about cricketers and cricket, because I often attempt to look beyond the player’s accomplishments. Through my columns, I hope I have helped communicate the need to increase interest in the sport, here in the US.
DreamCricket: Tell me a little bit about your involvement in cricket. When did you start playing cricket? What brought you to America? Why are you so passionate about this sport?
John Aaron: I played cricket up to the Secondary School level, before switching to club soccer. However, my late father Reggie Aaron was heavily involved in cricket as a first-class club player, writer and a national radio cricket commentator. I suppose I always had the cricket genes in my DNA, but never fully realized them, until I migrated to the USA to continue my university studies.
In fact, it was my brother Keith Aaron, who captained Guyana’s youth XI, who got me interested in cricket at the club level in the US, where I have been president of Atlantis Cricket Club – NY for the past nine years and now in my second year as president of the Eastern American Cricket Association.
My passion for the sport stems largely from seeing the angst on the faces of so many youngsters who were uprooted from their cricket-playing environments by parents whose only wish is to provide a better life for their children in the USA.
What drives me more than anything else is watching our youngsters don the red, white and blue of the USA. Hopefully they, along with a stable USACA will serve as the catalyst for the American-born cricketers to also excel at the sport.
DreamCricket: Your New York club, Atlantis, has an amazingly rich history. Its roster has included eminent folks like former Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Lester Bird and former West Indies Test captain Clive Lloyd. It also has some of cricket’s greatest among its honorary members, including Clive Lloyd, Andy Roberts, Alvin Kallicharran, Lance Gibbs, Roger Harper, Curtly Ambrose, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Lawrence Rowe and recently Joel Garner. How involved are these gents with Atlantis?
John Aaron: The super cat Clive Lloyd never misses an Atlantis match when he’s in New York, while some of the other gentlemen are very supportive of the club, in different ways. Over the years, we have treasured the relationships developed by honoring those very deserving players.
My hope is that because of the geographic proximity of the Caribbean to the US, USACA can encourage players such as those honored by Atlantis, to help in the development of the sport in the US through innovative youth clinics.
DreamCricket: I have known you as an activist cricketer - someone that wants to do more than just play on weekends. Your career graph in USA cricket is inspiring. You were Secretary of Atlantis, and then became its President. Then you were elected President of the Eastern American Cricket Association in the New York Cricket Region. Then you became Regional Director of New York this year. You have already given so much of your time to USA cricket. Can you tell our readers why you want to run for Secretary of USACA?
John Aaron: It is a question many of my friends and immediate family often ask me, having heard so many disparaging things about USACA, litigations, suspensions and disenfranchisement.
Ironically, it is a question that even I have asked myself. The resounding answer is always embedded in my sincere belief, that I can make a difference. My late father taught me that if you want to change something, it is always better to do it from the inside, rather than from the outside.
DreamCricket: You just got elected the Regional Director for New York. Would you be resigning from that position if you were elected the Secretary of USACA?
John Aaron: I wish I could say no. Not because I want to hold on to so many cricket leadership positions, but because I love the energy that is generated by cricket in New York. However, I would have to resign my position as Regional Director, and it makes perfect sense, because of the demands of both offices.
If elected Secretary of USACA, I am confident that New York has so many talented individuals that our Regional Administration will remain intact, very strong, competent and competitive.
DreamCricket: Your resume includes Chairman of USACA League President’s Reconciliation Commission. What role did you play in the Commission? Why was this commission formed?
John Aaron: My role was a relatively easy one, because I had some very competent and passionate individuals onboard with me, such members as Leighton Greenidge from Southern Connecticut, John Boaden from Dallas, Mark Sood from Southern California and Rajesh Padhi from San Francisco.
The commission was formed following the second suspension of USACA by the ICC last year, for essentially poor governance, and out of a concern that if we did not get our house back in order quickly, we would lose the opportunity for our senior team to participate in Darwin, Australia and our Under-19 team in Canada, during 2007. The commission members felt that USACA could sit with the representative group of league presidents and find solutions to the growing impasse in cricket in the US, and before the then WICB president Ken Gordon intervened.
Unfortunately, USACA’s president Gladstone Dainty refused to engage in the sincere effort to find solutions, prior to the intervention of the WICB, after WC 2007 in the West Indies.
DreamCricket: One of the main reasons for ICC’s second suspension of USACA was that it failed to meet the agreed and subsequently extended deadlines for the adoption of its constitution and the holding of elections.
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed commented then that, “The ICC recognizes that the USA has vast potential as a cricketing nation. But without a functioning administration that potential is likely to remain largely untapped.” Some have said that USACA was not to blame and ICC was on a witch-hunt.
You have spent a lot of time working with ICC/WICB appointed Independent Third Party Chris Dehring and USACA.
Can you share your thoughts from your vantage point? Obviously it was a tricky position - you had to progress the situation so that the constitution and governance could be improved. At the same time, there was a chance that USACA would see you as someone that was working against their own interests. Was it a thankless job?
John Aaron: I would not characterize it as a thankless job, because the culmination in many ways is the upcoming elections.
Was it stressful and frustrating? Yes, more so for those of us who felt we were fighting an honorable battle to reclaim cricket’s dignity in the US, while we sat across from an administration with what appeared to be a somewhat different agenda.
The ICC had no reason to be on a witch-hunt, if the US is perceived as a viable market for spreading the game.
Ironically, your question suggests that I may have been seen as working against the interests of USACA. President Dainty and some in his administration may have seen it that way, but at the end of the day, all I wanted was for cricket to emerge on top. Hopefully, I have been able to make some small contribution to that process, so far.
DreamCricket: How about the Constitution Review Committee that you were a member of? There are still some people out there that think that the newly ratified constitution is not very different from the one that was initially proposed back in 2006. But you have been very eloquent in your argument that what is needed is incremental change, and a foundation for future improvements. Do you believe that the constitution is now a dynamic one, which can be amended if the constituents want change?
John Aaron: There are several differences between the current constitution and the one initially drafted in 2006. Any constitution or other set of guidelines, rules and/or regulations tends to evolve over time. Even the constitution of the United States has had its share of amendments, when it was necessary.
I don’t believe time here would allow us to go into detail regarding the evolution of the current document, however, we now have a document with which we can work to help us forge ahead. As time will tell, the members of USACA will determine whether amendments need to be made to the constitution.
DreamCricket: How confident are you that ICC will lift its suspension after this election?
John Aaron: The ICC terms of reference for lifting the suspension require a recommendation from the WICB. Hopefully, at the conclusion of the upcoming elections, the current president of the WICB Dr. Julian Hunte, upon the recommendation of Independent Third Party Mr. Chris Dehring, will be comfortable enough to strongly recommend the ICC lift the suspension.
Lifting the suspension is only one part of the readmission of USACA into the international cricket arena. The other significant part is getting on the ICC’s cricket calendar for the next three years leading up to the 2011 Cricket World Cup. A very significant feature that affects USACA, and that is entirely in the hands of the members of the ICC.
DreamCricket: As a Secretary, what value do you bring to the New Inning team? Why is change necessary in this specific area?
John Aaron: I believe the entire administration of USACA needs to be changed. The Secretarial position is a crucial part of a new USACA, because the office of Secretary is pivotal in developing relationships both inside and outside of the United States. More importantly, we must seek to create a membership environment, where clubs and leagues will want to belong to USACA.
I believe I have the skill-sets necessary to create such an environment, whereby every cricket club in the US would be proud to be a member of the national organization.
DreamCricket: It certainly appears that some thought went into forming the New Inning team. A CFO is running for Treasurer, a writer with experience as Chairman of the Reconciliation Commission and Constitutional Review Committee is running for Secretary, and a Silicon Valley entrepreneur with a record of fundraising is running for President. The two VPs include one who is also an entrepreneur and the other is an administrator. And apparently by design, each is from a different region. Was this planned?
John Aaron: Interesting, isn’t it? But our team is in no way complete. Certainly, we have assembled a team that is inclusive. However, only five elected board members cannot manage USACA. We would serve primarily as the gatekeepers, the oversight governance group or the front office of the organization, so to speak. The success of USACA and the grass root development of cricket in the US will depend largely on a group beyond the five elected members of the USACA board.
The New Inning team has already started to compile a list of people with specific skill-sets to create a broad base management support group. We are looking to fill many roles in the blueprint, which we continue to develop for cricket in the US.
DreamCricket: Do you agree that transparency and openness are two areas where USACA has been lacking? How would your team be different? What are your priorities as Secretary of USACA?
John Aaron: A lack of transparency and openness are only two of the ills affecting USACA and cricket in this country. The New Inning team is in an advantageous position, because we have had a chance to see what does not work, and to focus on designing best-practices that we are sure will create an environment of trust and confidence – two of the pillars for developing any dynamic national organization.
As Secretary, my immediate role would be opening the lines of communication and helping the administration communicate its mission and vision for cricket in the US, as well as supporting the marketing efforts of the organization.
DreamCricket: Any comments on the other contestants for the post of Secretary? Paul DaSilva is the incumbent and he is running again. Sankar Renganathan is the other candidate. He is from a league in the Central East Region that is well known for being innovative. How do you see your chances of winning against such tough competition?
John Aaron: I feel my chances of being elected Secretary are very good, because the voters have had a chance to read how I can help USACA grow, so already my positions are transparent and widely communicated to the cricketing community.
Competition is always good, but in this case I am not sure how strong my competition is, because I have not heard from them or seen them articulate any of their positions on specific areas of the office. Having said that, I feel that all candidates, whether elected or not, have a role to play in the development of cricket in this country, going forward.
DreamCricket: So do you think your team will win? Why is it so important for the entire team to win as one?
John Aaron: I am fairly confident that if each of the thirty-five voting league presidents took the time to review and compare the New Inning’s “Bill of Rights” and Election Manifesto, with whatever platforms the incumbents and independents are running or not running on, would quickly see that ours is a well thought out blueprint aimed and inclusion and innovation.
To have the entire New Inning team seated on the board of USACA would be a tremendous advantage to cricket in this country, simply because we have met on several occasions, discussed, debated, drafted and formulated a plan of action for USACA and cricket in the US, so that very little time would be spent pondering what to do and getting acquainted with each other’s positions after March 29, 2008.
We owe it to cricket in the US to elect an established slate with the energy and chemistry, and ready to go from day one, after the election.
DreamCricket: Thanks John. Hope you will continue writing for DreamCricket after the election.
John Aaron: Time permitting I would love to continue writing for DreamCricket. I sincerely hope that DreamCricket remains a partner in our mission of helping develop cricket in the US.