Dear Editor,
With reference to Mr Jermaine Cockfield’s letter captioned, ‘Royal Challengers were knocked out of GT&T 10/10 competition unfairly’ (SN, March 2) first of all we must bring to the captain’s attention the fact that the fitness of the ground for play comes directly under the umpires who are the sole authority on play.
On the day in question (February 20) it was conveyed to us by the umpires that the ground was unfit for play and as such play for that ground was suspended. It was agreed by all the captains present that the game would be replayed on February 23 (the national holiday) providing the ground was in a condition to play all the matches that were slated. On the day in question the ground was suitable and passed for play by the umpires.
The team Royal Challengers was supposed to play the first match for the day at 9am. It was reported that they were aware that the match was on and they were so informed. Their numbers were called and they answered the first time saying they were on the way. The time that the five members turned up for play was 10.20 am.
1) Surely Mr Jermaine Cockfield was aware that they were required to turn up at the ground for 9am and they could only be aware of what was happening at the ground if the entire team was there. Rule Number 24 says that walkovers will be granted if a team has less than 7 players present ½ hour after the scheduled match time. Game time was 9am but at 10.20am only five members were present. Can Mr Jermaine Cockfield explain to me how 1½ hours later only five members were present and that this is unfair?
2) In his statement Mr Cockfield claims that the representative told him that he would have to come to the ground on February 23, but yet he called another representative to confirm whether he had to come. Why is it Mr Cockfield did not communicate with the said representative who was directly involved at the ground. Another thing to note is that Mr Cockfield’s other team members are too reliant on him alone and should also be taking the responsibility upon themselves to get ready for matches once the tournament has begun. Mr Cockfield who heads his team should have been the one to get to the ground first to explain the situation to the opposing captain so he could buy some time for his team.
3) Mr Cockfield chose to believe the other captain with whom he spoke because it would seem to him to serve his purpose. The other captain when he turned up at the ground would have been concentrating on his team members and his opposing team, rather than another opponent’s team, so would he have looked to verify that the other team was there? I would think not!
4) A claim that Mr Cockfield wrote a protest but could not deliver it seems to be farfetched, as Mr Cockfield had time to lodge his protest even after the rains had stopped, as even he knows that twenty-four hours is a lot of time given that this is so important to him and his team.
5) Mr Cockfield also seems to be unable to do anything that is important to the team, and needs to get his priorities right as per the rules and playing conditions. He needs to take into consideration the other team which turned up on time even allowing them more time just to play but were also disappointed in them. We ourselves are very disappointed in them as we would like to see all the matches played and have the excitement that the GT&T 10/10 brings to our people.
It should be noted that GT&T and the Guyana Softball League go extra lengths to ensure that all teams are treated fairly and would stand by the rules at all times, as those rules have been in existence for a long time now and are designed to ensure that equal opportunities are meted out to all the teams at all times.
In addition we would also invite Mr Cockfield to use this as a learning experience and do the right thing the next time around, and to join us in the rest of the tournament and enjoy the goodies that go with the GT&T 10/10.
We would like to take this opportunity to advise all teams to ensure that all their players understand these rules and if they have any queries to contact Leonard Harprashad of the Guyana Softball League on tel no 646-0568.
Yours faithfully,
Leonard Harprashad
