The team concept of the Ram Varadarajan group has been the key to the overwhelming outpouring of support for the unique group of candidates, who have all taken the 2008 USACA elections and the value of the power of the group of voters very seriously.
Varadarajan has stated in his team’s Election Manifesto that he (and his team) will serve at the will of the voters (the league presidents) and not the other way around. Clearly, he has already shown the respect for those cricket stakeholders who represent their respective constituencies.
This manner of governance has been lacking in recent USACA administrations, and has been the basis for distrust and the general sense of malaise shown by the USACA membersship towards an administration that has seen the ICC issue it with two suspension decrees, and denied the participation of a talented group of youngsters and seniors in international cricket.
As a group formed since the announcement of new USACA elections under the recently ratified constitution, the Ram Varadarajan team has been forging a chemical balance among themselves that has resulted in establishing trust for each other and a higher level of confidence by several league presidents - such a needy ingredient in true governance.
The carefully selected group of individuals, with diverse backgrounds, but a common purpose and passion - cricket, have harnessed their energy and enthusiasm by focusing beyond the election, to effect real change in the administration of cricket in this country. However, they have not lost sight of the fact that they must first be elected, by convincing the voters that they are best suited to lead the US back to respectability in the international cricketing community.
Being elected as a group will ensure that the next USACA administration will hit the ground running, and have no excuse for not being au fait with each others skill-sets. That’s why support for the group of candidates has been so strong. Several of the voters getting ready to cast their ballots on Saturday, March 29 recognize the advantages of a cohesive unit, and have begun to throw their weight behind the already established team, as the group best qualified to bring about change in the shortest period of time.
Thus, the concept of electing the Ram Varadarajan team has been gathering greater appeal than the independent candidates, whom if elected will require some time to get to know and trust each other, before making any serious attempt to move USACA forward. That is the advantage the Ram Varadarajan team has over the independents and incumbents, who ironically are not running as part of an established slate.
The team campaign concept though not new, is unlike anything ever seen in US cricket elections. It shows the effort made to forge a sense of inclusiveness and brainstorming before the fact.
With regard to those incumbents seeking reelection, it is very noticeable that they appear unwilling or unable to run under a single banner, which underlines the recent statements made by the current USACA president Gladstone Dainty, who stated that USACA under his watch was “burdened with mischievous elements” and was the victim of “friction from within.”
This election is where the rubber hits the road. Cricket in the US has suffered for far too long, to now elect a group of individuals who have not collectively expressed a vision for turning cricket around in this country, unlike the Ram Varadarajan team, who has openly shared their manifesto and “Bill of Rights” for all to see on this web site. One of the first signs of transparency and accountability by a team who has already held extensive meetings to create a plan for resurrecting USACA, so that like the phoenix, it can rise from the ashes and regain its rightful place among the other Associate member nations of the cricketing world.
The very prepared Ram Varadarajan team will be ready to hit the ground running on March 30, 2008, because it has already done its homework and are all on the same page – getting cricket in the US back on track, from day one.
