Dear Editor,
One does not have to be a lawyer to understand what the Cricket Ombudsman Kamal Ramkarran did in stopping the GCB election was illogical. Nothing the Ombudsman said supplanted the basic fact that in any GCB election, once two boards were present, these constituted a quorum and the election should have occurred. The same quorums occurred when all the previous illegitimate DCB elections were held, which enabled the GCB to be formed under Anand Sanasie whether he had Ramsey Ali, Dru Bahadur or Faizal Bacchus as his figurehead presidents. Guyana – how is GCB the only territorial board where the president is not a CWI director, but Sanasie as ‘Secretary’ is? Using the ombudsman’s own nonsensical logic, the first legitimate DCB election in a decade, won easily by Bissoondyal Singh should not have occurred because East Bank & West Demerara didn’t show up. Since then Sanasie has begun talking to the press – in a shockingly bad Sportsmax interview and a comical fact-check-free press conference with the Guyana media. Why did Sportsmax not fact check Sanasie’s ‘opinion’ on if the GCB elections is held and a new executive is elected they couldn’t rescind his nomination on behalf of Guyana? His opinion is not fact, can’t the media get accurate independent information on this?
Sanasie tried to fool the Caribbean by confusing Sportsmax about a sub-association election happening on the day of the DCB election. Can the Guyana press please keep the public properly informed about the comical alternative East Coast Cricket Board Sanasie’s associates have created to challenge the legitimate East Coast Board? We see his associates’ attempts to also cause trouble in the Georgetown Cricket Association, with a dumb no confidence motion filed by Everest & Gandhi clubs. Sanasie’s ‘opinions’ to Sportsmax on the Ombudsman’s appointment and consultations with CWI is also irrelevant. Can the media compel Sanasie to prove that previous controversial Ombudsman Steven Lewis’s (that his lawyers Satram & Satram curiously didn’t mention in their letters to Minister Ramson and just Winston McGowan) appoint-ment was done in consultation with the entire WICB/CWI board under Dave Cameron? What is this CWI Article 102 that he told Sportsmax that has been breached? Why has the Guyana press only chosen now because he is running for CWI president to ask him about the lack of a subvention to the Berbice Cricket Board, when Hilbert Foster has been complaining about this for years? Sanasie’s excuse was disrespectful. Has he any shame to know he openly admits what he did to Berbice yet 10 years later in the most recent West Indies senior men, women & under 19 teams the majority of Guyana’s selected players are from Berbice: Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Veera-sammy Permaul, Kevin Sinclair, Kevlon Anderson, Shabika Gajnabi , Shemaine Campbelle, Sheneta Grimmond.
Sanasie said to local media regarding CWI business: “I do not think recent business decisions taken were the wise ones to take us forward, I am not seeing new revenue streams being established that could really take us out of the hole we are in.” It’s public knowledge that since January 2021, CWI have signed broadcast deals which are the lifeblood of global sport, with ESPN USA, BT Sport UK, Vibes Radio Dominica, Flow Sports Caribbean, Super Sport South Africa and Sky New Zealand. Does Sanasie think we don’t read the news? In his 10 years as CWI director where was all of this business sense Sanasie has which aided WICB/CWI to enhance their revenue streams? On May 15, 2020 Stabroek News sport ran a leaked report of the CWI PKF financial audit which had a subtitle: “territorial board funding model not working.” In launching his frivolous presidential challenge, he suggested giving larger annual subventions to territorial boards. Before Sanasie reveals how much CWI allegedly owes GCB – let him show the Guyanese and Caribbean public what he has done with the current CWI subventions to help develop the game locally.
If a board doesn’t like Sanasie, will he as CWI president deny them subventions like he did to Berbice? Does Sanasie really expect us to believe that Dave Cameron will have no part in his administration? In 2019 Guyana and Barbados were the only two boards to support Cameron now two years later they are running to remove President Ricky Skerritt. Give us a break. Despite all I’ve said above, I’m not oblivious of the realities on the ground in Guyana where Sanasie seems to have unbelievable political influence in both parties. This certainly affects how the Guyanese sport media covers him. However, Guyana’s cricket media needs to do better in this crucial moment, the eyes of Caribbean are depending on your ability as journalists to tell the truth about this man’s past in cricket administration. I, and nobody I know in Caribbean cricket world with a brain, sees any evidence that he has the votes to become Cricket West Indies president. So Guyana media don’t let this man with his numerous cricket adminis-trative faux pas, continue to think based on the way you cover him, that he has a chance to get one the most important jobs in Caribbean society.
Sincerely,
Basil Butcher Jr
