Dear Editor,
Recently there has been another flurry of letters, responses, statements, press releases, etc, regarding the Demerara Cricket Board and the Guyana Cricket Board. This sordid affair has been going on for a number of years with no apparent end in sight, and much to the detriment of cricket in Demerara and by extension Guyana. I am sure most of your readers are familiar with the accusations, counter accusations, court rulings, pronouncements by other sports personalities and action or inaction by the Ministry of Sport and its agencies in a situation that in my opinion could have been resolved properly a long time ago. Having followed this affair from its inception, I have strongly resisted the temptation to comment on the matter, even though I believe I am qualified to comment. The contents of this letter should support my belief. But, what has prompted me to pitch in now was a recent letter in the KN of Tuesday, April 30, written by Mr Winston G Boston. This gentleman has captured in his letter the essence of this utterly disgusting situation as it is. And, he has quite rightly stated the non-qualification of some of the persons who claim to be officers of the DCB and by extension the GCB.
A question that I have is how the DCB can be properly constituted without the Georgetown Cricket Association and the East Coast Cricket Board. These two entities represent over ninety per cent of the cricketers in Demerara. Then my next question would be, were notices sent to the all cricket associations/boards in Demerara and was this notice published in the print media as per the rules. I stand to be advised.
Further to one of Mr Boston’s points, it has always been the accepted norm that persons seeking election to office in the administration of cricket, especially on area boards, county boards and national boards, should come with a solid background in cricket club administration. And, as far as I know, cricket club management committees are elected at properly constituted AGMs. I would indeed like to hear what is the background of the people who call themselves the DCB and the GCB; I would ask which clubs they are from, how many members, how many active clubs and grounds are in the area they represent, and if asked, could they produce the minutes of monthly meetings and AGMs for the past three to five years. As far as I remember the rules cover this contention.
What I have also noticed in all this mess is misinformation, wrong or bad information and to some extent concocted information. In particular reference, I recall some time during the last year the then President of the WICBC, Mr Julian Hunte in a lengthy statement in the press made a point that the present GCB as constituted is outdated having been in existence since 1968. Absolutely wrong. I do not know where Mr Hunte got his information from and how no one else picked up on this.
Here are the facts, and this is why I am aggrieved with this situation. In January of 1991 at the Annual General Meeting of the Guyana Cricket Board of Control (as it was then known) a Chetram Singh-led Committee replaced the Maj-Gen Norman McLean-led committee. It was our view at that time that cricket administration in Guyana needed a new direction. And, at our first monthly meeting I was the one who asked how come the GCBC is made up of the Berbice Cricket Board and the Essequibo Cricket Board and does not include Demerara as a county board. It was acknowledged that Demerara had the largest volume of clubs and players. This view was overwhelmingly supported by all and especially by the Berbice and Essequibo representatives. Thus the restructuring process began. If I can recall correctly, the East and West Coast of Demerara and the East Bank of Demerara already had associations.
Then the Georgetown Cricket Association had to be formed. The word association was used rather than board, to avoid conflict of title with the Guyana Cricket Board. This I know because I was the first Secretary of the GCA with Mr Claude Raphael as President. In the planning stages of the new Demerara Board, a select committee, headed by Attorney Mr Moses Bhagwan with myself, then Assistant Secretary of the GCBC, as the note-taker, was appointed to draft a constitution. Provision was made also for Linden/Wismar to become an area board once they had the required number of clubs as per the rules. It was then ruled that the McKenzie Sports Club would be a member club of the East Bank Cricket Board until such time that Linden/Wismar qualified as a board. So, there were four area associations/boards in Demerara and at a specially held general meeting the Demerara Cricket Board was formed and officers elected. Mr Chetram Singh was the first President of the DCB and I also was the first Secretary. These elections were supervised by the GCBC. Then in 1992 (not 1968) the new Guyana Cricket Board was formed with county boards Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. The word ‘control’ was dropped from the name.
From then on it was hard and dedicated work. Development of cricket administration and of cricket and cricketers was our only focus. None of us was there for position or glory and fame or for power, neither were we there for gain or fortune. We were not a clique nor were we ‘The Boys’ of a particular group with connections. We did not flaunt wealth or buy favours or positions. And we all had solid backgrounds in cricket administration. The point is cricket and cricket development was all we cared about. We put in the time and the hard work and it was paying dividends. Cricket was on the upswing. The area boards, the county boards and the GCB were working in unison. Therefore it is indeed vexing that all the hard and dedicated work to establish these entities and make them function has been severely compromised and is now in virtual ruin. The integrity of cricket administration in Guyana is in serious disrepute because of a self-serving few. I think I can safely say that Guyana is the laughing stock in Caribbean cricket circles.
I said earlier that this situation in Demerara could have been resolved a few years earlier. And it is my opinion that this is where the Ministry of Sport may have erred. After the issue of factions in Demerara arose it is my view that the ministry and/or the National Sports Development Council should have stepped in and supervised properly held elections in accordance with the standing rules. The issue should not have been allowed to end up in the courts. While I would have to respect the court rulings, I feel that the ruling is an impediment to resolving this situation in the way that it should be done. The GCB should have been the right body to oversee/supervise properly held elections, but their existence is also controversial and shrouded in legal concerns.
The holding of elections to elect officials to serve on the DCB is not rocket science. As I remember the system, the area boards have to provide evidence that they are properly constituted in accordance with the rules. Each area board is then allowed a set amount of delegates based on the amount of bona fide clubs they represent. Simply put, this could resolve the impasse and if the people concerned are really genuine about cricket in Demerara and Guyana they should allow this to happen. And if perchance the very people who call themselves the DCB and the GCB are elected, so be it. It would have been democratic, transparent and in accordance with the rules.
I also understand that our Parliament has been taking testimony from the various groups, including findings from a government set up IMC, with the intention of making laws regarding cricket administration in Guyana. Parliament is made up of politicians who were elected by the people, and they should be the first ones to acknowledge that to be elected to office you have to have properly run elections with a verified electorate. So the questions remain: (1) How can the DCB be constituted without the Georgetown Cricket Association and the East Coast Cricket Board who together represent over ninety percent of clubs and players in Demerara? and (2) How can the GCB be constituted without a Berbice Cricket Board (which was properly elected), but includes a controversial DCB? Recently on NCN television a moderator asked of three persons who said that they are from the GCB the same questions and it was vaguely answered that the ‘others’ were invited but did not show up. They did not offer any explanations as to why this was so.
Cricket, like most other team sports, has a structure: (1) the players/cricketers, (2) clubs, (3) area boards, (4) county boards and (5) the national board. This is an ascending structure with the players being the root of this structure, and what some people do not understand is that the mess at the top has a trickle-down effect. One has to be exposed to the bottom rungs of this ladder to experience the developing don’t care attitude of some of our clubs, and more especially the disregard and disrespect for the game, and the high principles of the game, as is being displayed by the players. Ask the umpires.
Having said all of the above, I do believe that our cricket administration in Demerara can be rescued. Therefore, I respectfully call on the sports authority in this country to do the right thing. It can be done.
I feel certain that they can apply to the High Court for leave from the court’s ruling to conduct elections.
I have provided a photo to SN of the 1992 Executive Committee of the GCB that worked so hard to build a structure for the advancement of cricket in our land, only to see it in virtual ruins.
I have to take this opportunity to commend the Berbice Cricket Board and to a lesser extent the Essequibo Board, for the excellent job they are doing with cricket in their respective counties.
Yours faithfully,
Rayman Williams
