BCA drops the ball with Shaquana Quintyne

Four years and four surgeries later, the once promising West Indies female cricketer Shaquana Quintyne is still to this day battling to recover from what can be described as a career ending knee injury.

Usually when an athlete is injured they are taken for scans and assessment as to the extent of the injury. However, when Quintyne got hurt in Antigua this was not done. Instead, she was sent home to Barbados without any evaluation.

It was the beginning of a long journey which has not ended as yet for what many thought would have been one of the West Indies superstars in the female version of the game.

With International Women’s Day just a few days away, it was even more glaring as the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) president Conde Riley came out in defence of one of our top male cricketers, but has not done so publicly as yet for Quintyne over the four years she has been dealing with this ordeal.

Quintyne said that no one has officially contacted her from the BCA outside of Hartley Reid, who was then chairman of the women’s committee, and has tried to champion her cause while he was on the committee.

According to Quintyne, Dr Roland Toppin who was the CEO of the BCA at the time contacted her in an unofficial capacity. But this contact between Quintyne and Toppin was done about two years into her battle, and it was never in an official capacity. She noted as well that she has never heard from the current president Conde Riley or vice president Calvin Hope, who have both sat on the BCA board since her injury in varying post.

Reid said that during the early stages of Quintyne’s injury he tried to impress on the BCA board the need to support the Barbados athlete in her time of need.

“In the month of June 2017 the WICB, as it was then called, met in Barbados and as I had constantly raised the issue at board meetings Deighton Smith, acting President of the BCA, had a conversation with Dr. Bennett, then Head of WICB’s Medical Panel, who agreed to meet with her.”

Dr Donovan Bennett along with Dr Akshai Mansingh both stepped down from the board at the end of 2017.

However, before they vacated the post Quintyne travelled to Jamaica and had her first operation in June. Reid noted that she was unaccompanied even though her mobility was expected to be compromised after the operation.

Due to the advancements in science and technology, the rate of recovery has improved tremendously and many athletes have been able to overcome knee injuries and return to play.

However, this has not been the case for Quintyne who had to undergo a second surgery before the end of the year.

As the plight of the Barbadian athlete continued there was still no support from the local association.

In 2018 she had two additional operations – the first one in April – and she was accompanied by a Cricket West Indies designate. She was slated to have a follow up three months later but there was no facilitation by the board and thus she had to take up the financial burden on her own.

More than a year had passed since her initial injury and her first surgery and still there was no support from the BCA after Smith’s initial contact with the then WICB.

Some may argue that she was contracted by the West Indies Cricket Board, but does that mean we no longer support our athletes who have advanced to the top level?

Despite all of this, Quintyne, who played her last international game for the West Indies against India in November 2016, has not lost hope. However, as the date of her initial injury approaches the four-year mark, she said that she still has pain and discomfort in the knee.

“I would have done four surgeries thus far and using a brace which helps me tremendously, but I would love for that day to come when I no longer have to depend on it. But having said that, I’m grateful I still have my leg,” Quintyne said.