President of the West Indies Cricket Board Julian Hunte has written Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony seeking an update on recent developments with the Guyana Cricket Board and the Interim management Committee.
According to Hunte the WICB has had no official contact from Guyana since January and the WICB has had to be kept abreast of developments in Guyana through press reports and press statements.
..”We note an order of the Honourable Chief Justice (Ag.) Mr. Ian Chang dated February 24, 2012 restraining a number of individuals (inter alia) from holding out the Guyana Cricket Board in Guyana to be the lawful administrator of national cricket, until the hearing and determination of a summons returnable in this cause,” Hunte wrote.
He again re-iterated that under WICB’s constitution and regulations, the GCB was the body authorised to administer cricket locally.
Hunte said the WICB was not clear as to what was the present situation with the GCB.
“As a result of multiple court actions, WICB is now wholly unclear as to the present status of the Guyana Cricket Board, in law and in practice, and its ability to carry out its responsibilities,” he wrote.
Hunte said the Guyana Government is yet to respond to the WICB’s proposal which was facilitated by CARICOM.
“We have had no official contact from your office or the Government of Guyana [since January].
“We have not received any response from the Government of Guyana to WICB’s proposal, made during our discussions facilitated by CARICOM in January of this year. It is now unclear as to whether, or what parts of that proposal could be operable, in law or in practice. It is also unclear what alternatives may be available to solve the impasse,” the letter stated.
According to Hunte, the two parties needed to solve the situation.
“We need to find a solution which is lawful, practicable, works for cricket in Guyana, represents approved cricket under the auspices of the ICC, and is consistent with the constitution and regulations of the WICB,” Hunte stated.
“We would be grateful for your assistance in this regard and would like to seek an audience with you at your earliest convenience so that we can address these issues,” said the WICB president.
Meanwhile, West Indies Cricket should be high on the agenda when the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting commences in Suriname today.
The Guyana Government’s attempt at constitutional reform for Guyana’s cricket and recent developments in Jamaica should be among the issues discussed.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller is expected to lead the fight for CARICOM heads to look at the governance of regional cricket.
Simpson-Miller and WICB president Hunte were recently embroiled in a war of words over the continued exclusion of former West Indies captain Chris Gayle from the regional side.
Gayle has been sidelined by the regional selectors for comments he made and for refusing to apologise for those comments.
There are some who feel that Gayle has already served his time and should be included in the West Indies team especially after rattling up two centuries in the recent Bangladesh Premier League.
Miller-Simpson is also upset that Jamaica has been bypassed for matches for the upcoming Australia tour.
Former Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Lester Bird has also been critical of the WICB over their treatment of Gayle.
According to Simpson-Miller the WICB needs to be reminded that CARICOM governments should not be taken for granted not after spending some US$100 million for Cricket World Cup in 2007.
And, a statement on the current 23rd Inter-Sessional Meeting in Paramaribo, the CARICOM Secretariat referred to “the thorny issue of the governance of cricket at the national, regional and international levels” as an agenda item.
