Dear Editor,
With reference to the just concluded GTT Male Softball Finals between defending champions Wolf Warriors and Regal XI which I attended on May 12 and which was played under the auspices of the Guyana Softball League, I would like to highlight a few occurrences which bring every aspect of play in cricket into disrepute.
The finals were marred by dubious umpiring decisions which seemed to go against the defending champions Wolf Warriors. Imagine that for the male finals two junior umpires were preferred, even though the complement of umpires available included two seasoned and experienced umpires, namely, Messrs Nichcols and D’Aguiar.
Examples of poor umpiring:
* There were five balls over-bowled by Regal XI.
* Regal XI batsman Gittens was given six runs instead of four runs in one of the overs, even though there were boundary line officials to advise the umpires of such.
* Regal XI batsman Gittens was run out and had started his return to the pavilion when he was given not out and called back. The crowd could have made the decision for the ruling umpire.
* The biggest factor of the night was the balls used by Regal XI when bowling seems to have been unusual. Why were the big hitters of the balls not getting sixes and fours at will, something which was occurring throughout the entire tournament? Who was responsible for checking the balls used and ensuring their integrity at all times during the game? The umpires should have looked at this.
It seems that the organiser of the event wanted at all costs to crown a new champion, hence the poor decisions on match day. The keynote here is that money is the feature prize. One cannot ignore too the amount of betting that was going on during the entire tournament, including by players and team officials, and that it was openly done.
It was critical in a match that in the end that went down to the last over, that officials should play their part and adjudicate in the interest of the game, and not contribute to controversies which I believe occurred. Additionally, going forward, I would like to see more robust safeguards put in place to ensure that the rules of fair play are protected and the game of cricket is not brought into disrepute. The sponsors should place greater emphasis on this aspect in future tournaments, including requesting that organisers screen match officials properly and see they adhere to a code of conduct.
Finally, I believe that the main sponsor, GTT, in addition to others has taken on the social responsibilities expected of large entities. I do hope others will follow suit, not just in cricket but in other sports as well.
Yours faithfully,
Rayman Rahaman
