The omission of Ramnaresh Sarwan from the Guyana squad selected for the upcoming T20 Regional Tournament was hatched at the level of the West Indies Cricket Board in collaboration with some Guyanese cricket officials. The two senior WI players were targeted for their involvement with WIPA rather than their cricketing prowess.
Ramnaresh Sarwan should have been included in the Guyana squad at the very least, especially since the tournament is scheduled for late January and Mr Sarwan would have enough time to prove his fitness, since his cricketing ability cannot be questioned, given his excellent record and the fact that he is still young.
Within recent years Sarwan’s leadership, drive, inspiration and commitment to our cricket have been the cornerstone upon which our cricket progressed. In 2008, he suggested the investment in young players at the expense of the older ones, thereby opening the doors for players like Bishoo, Barnwell, Bess, Beaton, Chandrika, Bramble, etc; his take was that within two to three years they could develop into good enough players to keep Guyana’s flag flying high.
Unfortunately the Guyana Cricket Board has been hijacked by a group of persons who have no idea about cricket, its organization and development. They are accountable to nobody, have no legal basis and have been derailing and destroying the cricketing fabric, particularly in Berbice where a properly run board existed before they came along.
The Chief Justice ruled that the situation was untenable and urged the Ministry of Sport to take corrective action before it is too late. For some reason the government seems scared to act accordingly, thereby leaving an illegal group to run amok with the affairs of our most cherished sport.
We certainly can expect more than Sarwan to be victims, as well as more chaos within the framework of our cricket administration as long as the status quo is allowed to continue.
It is indeed shameful that former Test players at the WICB and national players at the GCB could sit idly by and support persons who are destroying cricket, persons who never played the game and know nothing about the game or its administration. It is only a matter of time before a FIFA–like tsunami hits cricket from the ICC through its member Boards to the affiliates.
I am asking all Guyanese to lift their voices and contribute to the restoration of order, decency and transparency at the Guyana Cricket Board before it is too late.
It is essential, it is necessary, it is democracy.
Yours faithfully,
Claude Raphael
