West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) president Dinanath Ramnarine has warned the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) against imposing sanctions against the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) that will negatively affect players’ ability to practise their trade or profession.
During a news conference at WIPA headquarters on Edward Street, Port of Spain, on Friday the WIPA boss insisted: “We will not allow a West Indies tournament to proceed or West Indies team to be selected in which the Guyana players are not considered for representation or from which a Guyana team is debarred.”
His statement comes on the heels of the Guyana government’s decision to appoint an Interim Management Committee to dis place the current GCB executive and recent reports the WICB may have no choice but to impose sanctions against Guyana, which would be in keeping with international norms.
Earlier this year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that all member associations should be free from government interference in elections or other administrative affairs and gave all members two years to implement the provisions before any sanctions would be considered.
Ramnarine explained: “From what we know, the Chief Justice of Guyana has recommended an interim committee to manage cricket in Guyana, following a challenge to the legitimacy of the present executive. This is a legal matter and a legal decision, and it is not our place or purpose to question the judgment.
“What we question is the threat of sanction to our players and what seems to be a situation where their ability to practise their trade or profession may be negatively affected…. As the representative of the players ,we are fully prepared to take whatever action we consider necessary against any restraint of trade or discrimination against our members.”
The WICB directors are scheduled to meet this weekend in St Lucia where the state of affairs regarding the Guyana board will be one of the key items on the agenda.
Ramnarine also called for the ICC to clarify its own position on the matter, in terms of the governance of the WICB.
“We keep hearing that the ICC has mandated boards to free themselves of what it terms ‘political interference’ in the next two years, yet the WICB is headed by someone who is chairman of a political party and a CEO who campaigned actively for a political party,” Ramnarine said.
In a recent Sunday Express column, Tony Cozier noted the WICB’s two foremost administrators, president Julian Hunte and chief executive Ernest Hilaire, were both in the hierarchy of the St Lucia La bour Party (SLP), which won the general election earlier this month.
Cozier said Hunte was chairman of the SLP while Hilaire was a prominent strategist for the party.
“We want to hear from the ICC and believe that they should state categorically and clearly where they stand in this particular matter. Justice must not only be done but seen to be done,” Ramnarine concluded. (Reprinted from the Trinidad Express)
