GUYANA CRICKET seems ready to return to the regional line-up.
New elections for the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) could be on the horizon after the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is set to prepare a memorandum of agreement that will be signed by the two bodies and the Guyana government.
The WICB issued a press release yesterday following a series of “high-level meetings” between a delegation from the regional board, Guyanese government officials and representatives from both opposition parties, Alliance for Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
It marks the end to a daunting impasse between the GCB and the Guyana government that came as the massive fall-out from the board’s 2011 elections that were boycotted by several constituent members.
The Berbice Cricket Board even took the GCB to court on the grounds that the board wasn’t a legal one – a point duly acknowledged by the country’s chief justice, who suggested the government take control of the board “in the national interest”.
But the WICB failed to acknowledge the subsequent Interim Management Committee (IMC) appointed by Sports Minister Dr Frank Anthony, before recently scrapping Guyana as the venue for this third Test after taking issue with passing of a Guyana Administration Bill.
However, the release stated the memorandum “would identify those areas of the bill which the parties agreed need revision”, and will also set out those revisions that should be made.
“I haven’t heard any final sayings but I am sure that once they have come to an agreement that we will all be happy,” said Guyanese-born former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, who served as the head of IMC.
“I knew that it had to come to an end but you get worried about the young people and if they will ever get to improve on their cricket, so it’s good that it has been resolved.
“And I think we’ve worked in a constitution that is very good, and once elections are done in the manner that they’re supposed to be, we will be transparent, and that’s what people want.
“It is important for cricket in general because cricket across the Caribbean has been going through a rocky period so we hope that we can be a catalyst,” said Lloyd, who watched yesterday’s second day of the third Test match between West Indies and New Zealand.
According to the release, all the interested parties expect the revisions of the bill to be made by next week “so as not to unduly affect cricket in Guyana”.
The Guyana Administration Bill has yet to be made law though despite being passed in the National Assembly on May 15.
“The WICB is positive that we are on a path that can help in the process and look forward to the next few weeks as we continue our negotiations with positive anticipation,” stated WICB vice-president Emmanuel Nanthan. Nanthan was part of that WICB delegation that included director Anand Sanasie, legal officer Alanna Medford and external counsel Walter Scott.
