President of the West Demerara Cricket Association (WDCA) Anand Sanasie said yesterday that he believes that the recent visit of Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt to Guyana was not a fact-finding one as has been stated but rather an attempt to institute a change of regime.
Skerritt recently visited Guyana, the fourth such visit to CWI affiliates where he met with Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, Minister of Social Cohesion with Responsibility for Sport, Dr. George Norton, a group referring to themselves as “majority stakeholders of Guyana Cricket” including Georgetown Cricket Association President, Roger Harper as well as Sanasie and colleagues.
Skerritt did not meet with the media in Guyana following his visit and there has been no press release from CWI to date but it is believed that issues such as Guyana hosting the Regional U19 competition, the upcoming tour of India, and the status of the GCB executives who were recently the barred from holding themselves out to be officials of the GCB via a Court order were among the issues discussed.
In an exclusive interview with this publication, Sanasie explained that he was “basically asked by Mr. Skerritt to arrange a meeting with Minister Norton and at that time he informed me that he was coming in to see Mr. Roger Harper and Colleagues.
“I had asked at that time in what capacity? He basically told me that as the President of Cricket West Indies he can meet with any one and I agreed with him and in those same exchanges he told me he would be meeting with me and my colleagues, I guess given the legal situation it would be appropriate.”
Sanasie said that Skerritt also met with executives of the GCB.
“We did meet with him, the GCB executives that were elected in 2018 along with some others from across the country. He attended the meeting with a lawyer and it was clear from the inception that his visit was to probably in my personal opinion, start a process of regime change at the GCB.”
Sanasie, who held the post of SGCB secretary prior to the court ruling, said Skerritt arrived at the meeting with a lawyer who had represented and continues to represent persons against the GCB.
“I think there surely is a perception of bias. If CWI needed legal advice they have in-house lawyers working, who are very much aware and have previous knowledge going back eight years on the situation involving Guyana and that would have easily been done,” he declared.
Sanasie said he did not feel much was achieved by the visit.
“I don’t think anything was concluded [ from the visit] and depending on how you define fact-finding, if your priority is to meet with someone who runs a sub association in a county of Guyana, a full member of CWI, the way it was done does not come over as if you were actually operating in a manner considered fair.”
Sanasie said that at the meeting, Skerritt was provided with as much information as possible but his lawyer was asking questions that I don’t think were appropriate.
“We told him that he can speak to our attorney, we did volunteer any information he needed on the legal side to come from the attorney who was never contacted.”
Sanasie said they were told that the staging of the Regional U19 tournament in Guyana was not up for discussion.
“When we attempted to discuss the Under-19 tournament and how it would roll out in Guyana that was not up for discussion. As regards to the India tour we were basically asked to give up all rights that belong to the GCB which obviously we told them in consultation with our lawyers and so on.”
Since the meeting, there have been unconfirmed reports that Guyana will play host to India in two one dayers while the Regional Under-19 tournament t has been moved to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“I am aware that there is no legal challenge to the GCB functioning however, it is not yet clear what is going on with the under-19 and the India tour, I would hope both remain in Guyana but information coming to us indicated that the Under-19 tour was moved prior to Mr. Skerritt coming here,” Sanasie said.
Sanasie said that the CWI executives are expected to meet this week.
“The GCB is a full member and functioning entity and while there are issues surrounding its executives, which in time will be rectified, there is no basis in moving the events,” said Sanasie.
