Guyana government blasts WICB

Georgetown (Guyana), Feb 10 (IANS/CMC):

The Guyana government has condemned the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for sending two directors to witness recent general elections of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Roger Luncheon has accused the WICB of disregarding the ruling of the high court which had issued an injunction stopping the elections from taking place, reports CMC.

Luncheon’s comments represent the latest development in a lingering conflict stemming from disputed elections in 2011, the dissolution of the GCB and WICB’s refusal to recognise the interim management committee set up by government to replace the GCB.

“Equally condemned, was the continuing permissive and objectionable role of the West Indies Cricket Board in their defence of the discredited GCB executives and implicitly joining them in defiance of the court ruling,” Luncheon said.

Two WICB officials witnessed the elections that adopted a new constitution and appointed Dru Bahadur as the new president.

One of the directors, Conde Riley, was quoted in the Guyana newspaper Kaieteur news as saying he was satisfied with the process.

However Luncheon noted that the WICB was aware of the legal issues surrounding the GCB when it sent representatives to observe the poll “and proceeded to anoint the new office bearers.”

“Cabinet deplored these negative developments,” he was quoted by the Government Information Agency (GINA) as saying after a cabinet meeting reviewing the status and recent developments in Guyana’s cricket.