The Cricket Stake holders of Guyana group has come out swinging over the administration of the game locally and the recent performances on the field by the national senior team in the regional four-day competition and a team from West Demerara which participated in the Demerara Cricket Board’s (DCB) Inter-Association U15 competition.
The group called the performance of the national senior team which lost to Barbados inside three days
in the second round of the West Indies Cricket Board’s regional four day competition “poor” and said it was symptomatic of the ills affecting the sport.
“The extremely poor performance of the Guyana team in the first two matches of the 2014 Regional 4-Day tournament is symptomatic of the ills that have afflicted our national game over the past four years,” stated the group, pointing out that against even a depleted Barbados team, Guyana could only muster two scores below two hundred (200) and lost the match in less than three days.
“Since a new group has taken over the helm of Guyana’s cricket, it has been one shambolic performance after the other. Our national teams have not won any competition at any level over the past four years,” the group pointed out.
The group was also critical of the absence of a Cricket Development Committee (CDC) and questioned where the funds allocated to that committee from the West Indies Cricket Board were going.
“There are no meetings of the very important Cricket Development Committee of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) headed by Alfred Mentore and one is left to wonder what has become of the US$ 100,000 that it receives each year from the West Indies Cricket Board ICB) for cricket development.
“We the stakeholders of Guyana’s cricket have long contended that both the GCB and the Demerara Cricket Board are illegal bodies. A few misguided persons disobeyed a Court Order issued by Justice Diane Insanally and installed themselves as officials of the DCB. They then formed a private Company, the DCB Inc., named themselves as directors, and transferred all the assets of the DCB. The Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) and the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) are not part of the secret DCB and the incorporation of the DCB Inc. was done without their knowledge and consent,” the group alleges.
“The East Bank Demerara Cricket Association (EBDCA) and the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) are virtually just names since these two associations play no cricket, have no cricket development plans and are illegal. Persons unknown to the cricket fraternity are the executives of the DCB. This is the first time in the history of the DCB since its formation in 1992 that the executives are not known to its constituent members and the public,” the group charged.
According to the group, the important sub-committees of the DCB constitutionally comprise the four constituent members. However, they argue that the composition of the sub-committees (the selection panel, the competitions committee, the cricket development committee, the finance committee) are also unknown.
“There are no Executive Committee Meetings, Ordinary General Meetings, and Annual General Meetings so monies received and expended by this group are also unknown to the constituent members and the public (No President report, no Secretary report and no financial statement),” the Cricket Stakeholders of Guyana asserted.
The group also weighed in on the performance of a West Demerara U15 team which was participating in the DCB Inter Association tournament where none of the 11 players contributed a run from the bat whilst batting.
“In a recent Inter-Association Under 15 Cricket match, the West Demerara cricket team was bowled out for 13 runs with not one of the 11 players scoring a single run. All 13 runs were extras. It is the first time in any cricket match anywhere that no batsman touched a ball with nine being bowled and one being out LBW. Many of the persons in charge of West Demerara cricket are on the GCB and one set sits on the WICB. It is the very persons who have installed the illegal DCB and probably are the persons holding themselves as the DCB executives. This is a clear example of why our cricket is in such a ruinous state. Neither East Bank nor West Demerara has produced a single senior national cricketer for the past 15 years,” said the group.
“The national senior players coming out of Demerara are from Georgetown and East Coast, the two areas which have been excluded from participation of the DCB and been denied any subvention for four years,” they pointed out adding… “Neither the DCB nor the GCB have any youth development programmes and can now hardly compete at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 regional competitions.”
The group also took issue with the conditions of two of the venues under the GCB’s control, the recent announcement by the GCB to stage a $10m T20 competition and a recent statement by Director of Sport, Neil Kumar.
“We remember the mistreatment of a youth cricketer from Berbice Cylus Tyndall who was abandoned at the Dr. Cheddi Jagan International Airport after the newly-appointed manager from Leguan, Virendra Chintamani, misplaced his passport and the youngster could not travel. A parent who went to see his child off rescued Tyndal and brought him to Georgetown. “This very serious matter should have engaged the Child Care Protection Agency as the abandonment of a minor under any circumstances is a criminal offence,” they allege.
“We note too that from recent newspapers articles, the GCB’s Hostel at Anna Regina Essequibo and the DCB practice facility in Woolford Avenue, Georgetown are both in deplorable conditions because of neglect.
“This shows clearly that the persons in charge of these boards have little interest in promoting and developing cricket at any level.
“Now the GCB has announced that it will stage a National T20 Cricket League with a first prize money of a whopping ten million dollars. This is coming from an entity that has Guyana cricket in the doldrums. The whole issue of the T20 Cricket League is a pathetic attempt to win favour with the public who on a daily basis is becoming more fed up with the administration of Guyana Cricket.
And through all this crisis in Guyana’s cricket, the Director of Sport, Neil Kumar, recently stated that he has offered unflinching support to the GCB.
“Kumar is fully aware of the serious problems in Guyana’s cricket the charges of impropriety, the charges of illegal elections, the many court matters and the disobeying of court orders. He must know for he sits on the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on cricket where all these issues were ventilated.
“It is therefore remarkable that Kumar is giving unflinching support to the very GCB that is attempting to block the passage of the Cricket Administration Bill which has been tabled by the Government of which he is a part,” the Cricket Stakeholders of Guyana ended by saying.
