By Iva Wharton
There seems to be some controversy surrounding the selection of Guyana’s female team to contest the Regional tournament which starts on August 5.
Three senior national players said they were convinced that mischief was afoot when they were deliberately left out of the Demerara team to contest the Inter-County tournament which started on Friday last at the Everest Cricket Club ground.
Abena Parker, Onika Wallerson and Joan Van Sertima turned up on Friday at the Everest Cricket Club ground but said they were told that they were not eligible for selection to the Demerara team, because they each were on a one year ban instituted by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
The players said that a cricket official at the Everest Cricket Ground had told them of their ineligibility.
Parker told Stabroek Sport that she learnt that the trio was banned for an interview which they gave this publication last September on the treatment meted out to female cricketers as compared to their male counterparts.
Reached for a comment, Colin Europe, Chairman of the Competitions Committee of the now disbanded GCB, said that he could not comment on the issue as he is no longer a member of the GCB and that GCB Administrator Savitri Persaud should be contacted.
When contacted Persaud said she knew nothing of the trio being banned. Yesterday, this publication contacted former Cricket Development Officer of the GCB, Reon King, who said that at no time were the three players banned by the board. “Recollecting the issue about the girls, an unfavourable report was presented on one of the girls Wallerson but a decision was taken to let it be and no disciplinary action was taken against her, King, the former Guyana and West Indies speedster told Stabroek Sport.
King added that neither Parker nor Van Sertima’s names came up for discussion as they were not mentioned in the manager’s report. He also said that claims that the girls were banned for giving this publication an interview were not true. The only issue that was discussed was based on the report presented by the manager, said King. According to King, had the trio been banned, then they would have received formal letters from the cricket board notifying them of the same, but the absence of any formal notification means that the they were not banned in the first place. King also said that to the best of his knowledge, since he has been working at the Board no player was ever banned.
