Guyana has missed the deadline for submitting a squad for the upcoming Caribbean Twenty20.
The deadline ran out on November 22 and the WICB is reporting that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has to date not submitted a squad for the tournament to be played in Trinidad and St Lucia from January 6 to 20.
Guyana’s failure to meet the deadline is believed to be linked to the dispute which emanated from last year’s GCB elections which forced the Government to dissolve the board and replace it with an Interim Management Committee (IMC).
“The deadline for submission of squads to participate in the Caribbean Twenty20 2013 was November 22, 2012,” the WICB said in a statement release after a series of meetings in Trinidad over the weekend.
“The GCB did not submit the Guyana team by this deadline and has not submitted the Guyana team to date.”
Guyana nearly missed the last Caribbean Twenty20 because of the impasse, the subject of discussion during a meeting of the CARICOM Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket in Antigua in September.
The WICB is to set a new deadline for the GCB to submit the Guyana team for the Caribbean T20.
“The board has therefore directed the WICB management to again request the GCB to provide a Guyana team to participate in the Caribbean Twenty20 and for WICB management to set a date by which the Guyana team is to be submitted,” said the statement.
“The WICB management will set the date and once finalized will communicate same to the GCB and the public”.
The Caricom Sub-Committee on cricket had recommended that all efforts be made towards resolving the ongoing issues between the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Cricket Board, and appointed Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as mediator.
In its statement the WICB expressed ‘grave concern’ at the length of time it is taking to reach a resolution.
“The board awaits the outcome of this critical process,” said the statement. “The board further implores all parties involved to use their best endeavours to ensure that the situation with regard to cricket in Guyana returns to a level of acceptability in the shortest possible period.”
The WICB has repeated its position that it recognizes only the GCB as the sole governing body responsible for the administration of the sport and earlier this year the ICC condemned the Guyana government accusing it of interference. (CMC)
