Dear Editor,
We are approaching the stage of desperation in the administration of our cricket, and the fact that the present illegal Guyana Cricket Board regime has no representation from the Berbice Cricket Board, the Georgetown Cricket Association and the East Coast Cricket Board constitutes a serious indictment of the process, since 95% of the quality cricketers are produced by these three areas with their astute and dedicated administrators.
The Ministry of Sport and the government at this time of national elections must set the example, especially since the ball is in their court, to take the bull by the horns, respect the Chief Justice’s ruling and act in the best interest of our cricket before it is too late. They must not allow the efforts of Berbice Board, Georgetown Cricket Association and East Coast Cricket Board to be subordinated to the ills of the East Bank Cricket Association, West Demerara Cricket Association and the Essequibo Cricket Board, all of whom together have no proper cricket programmes and have only produced two national cricketers and one Test player over the last five years.
It is quite evident that Angela Haniff’s recent expressions of victimization and the vindictive administrative practices of the group pretending to be the Guyana Cricket Board, must be a cause of serious concern for all those who have the least bit of interest in Guyana’s cricket.
This illegal regime headed by Ramsay Ali and Anand Sanasie has demonstrated its uncaring and totally disrespectful attitudes towards the Berbice Cricket Board, its constitutional rights and the unparalleled contributions of this Board to the cricketing landscape of Guyana, the West Indies and the world at large. The Berbice Board has been the most successful unit in organizing cricket programmes, executing them and producing quality cricketers both male and female at all levels.
It is indeed sad to see that a power-hungry illegal group totally oblivious to the role that the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) is playing in the promotion and development of cricket, could stoop so low as to withhold funding, and disrupt the administrative structure of the BCB in a petty move which will destabilise that Board, by bringing pressure on its executive in order to obtain their support.
Yet these are the advocates, or so they say, of ‘Putting Cricket First.’
It however is not surprising that the group could so act since they consist of personnel who never played any particular level of cricket; they are not members of any of the county Boards; they have never headed any clubs, associations or cricket board, and generally have little knowledge of how cricket is structured within the three counties. Their only concern is seemingly to use cricket for their own self-gratification.
When the Chief Justice ruled that the Minister should intervene in the short term with an IMC, and in the long term with appropriate legislation, it was seen as the correct approach towards resolving this most undesirable state of affairs. But for some inexplicable reason the Minister has been extremely lethargic in progressing to this level of action. The silence is deafening and worrying.
Meanwhile damage continues to be done to the Board, by appointing Berbice defectors to management positions, despite their inability to function effectively, and amidst the previously unheard of losses of cell phones/cash in cricketers’ dressing rooms.
If the required 27 delegates were allowed to vote instead of the orchestrated 10 there would have been a vastly different set of executive members elected. Names such as Bissoondyal Singh, Roger Harper, Pretipaul Jaigobin, Anil Beharry and Keith Foster would have been amongst the new executive. Let’s correct this situation now, and give due respect to those whom the majority desire to be running the cricket affairs in this country through a free, fair and transparent electoral process, involving all representatives from all three cricket boards.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Hyles Franco
Former Chairman
Junior Selection Panel
