Kingston, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller wants an end to the standoff between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and has called for the left-hander’s reinstatement to the regional side.
Speaking at the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) awards dinner at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Saturday night, Simpson-Miller said the controversial issue had dragged on for too long and it was time a resolution was found.
“Justice delayed is justice denied and we demand that a resolution be found as quickly as possible,” Simpson-Miller said.
“Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket.”
Gayle has been shut out of the West Indies side for nearly a year, since making controversial comments critical of the WICB and coach Ottis Gibson.
After several meetings with Gayle and his representatives yielded no solution, the WICB mandated last October that the former Windies captain withdraw his controversial comments before he could be considered for selection.
Gayle has since indicated he would not apologize, as he stood by his statements.
Simpson-Miller also rapped the WICB for not following through on the recommendations of the Patterson Report, which was compiled by former Jamaica Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
Simpson-Miller said she would be taking a look at the issue.
“You can, however, depend on me as prime minister of Jamaica to follow up on this,” she announced.
“All of us – players, administrators and fans – have a responsibility to restore this sport, in which we have done so well, to its former glory.”
However, in a statement last night, the WICB rebuffed Simpson-Miller’s comments.
The WICB likened Simpson-Miller’s suggestion that Gayle should be allowed back without withdrawing his comments as “tantamount to a member of the Jamaican cabinet lambasting and deriding the leader of the cabinet and fellow cabinet colleagues and being returned to that august body without any accountability for his or her actions”.
Saying that Simpson-Miller was not properly briefed, the WICB said they “believe the prime minister would appreciate the seriousness and repercussions of the case had she been provided with all the relevant information” and offered to provide a complete dossier of all relevant documents on the matter. (CMC/SP)