WICB PRESIDENT TO MEET PORTIA?

As the sport of cricket desperately clings to life here in the region, the West Indies Cricket Board met this weekend to discuss matters of great importance. Among those critical issues is the year-long impasse between the board and the most popular batsman in the region Christopher Henry Gayle.

Since Gayle made his disparaging remarks against the board and West Indies coach Otis Gibson last year, Gayle has not been considered for selection. The board is demanding an apology from Gayle, who has said publicly that he will not apologize. Gayle in the meantime has thrived financially playing in the growing number of T20 leagues around the world, earning more than US$1 million as well as the adoration of an army of new fans who enjoy watching his explosive batting.

Gayle has more hundreds in T20 than any other player on the planet and T20 is rapidly becoming the most popular version of the game, attracting millions of fans watching from around the world. It almost seems as if every time a new league starts, the first player invited is Gayle. Meanwhile, the West Indies continues to struggle with the domestic T20 competition, the board still cant find sponsors for any of their regional competitions and as much as he is as much to blame as the board in this current impasse, Gayle is being made out to be the victim; the board, the villain.

Things took a turn for the worse recently when newly elected Prime Minister of Jamaica Portia Simpson Miller called for Gayle to be reinstated in the West Indies team and also lamented the fact that Jamaica’s Sabina Park was once again overlooked as a venue for the upcoming tour by Australia. In response to the Prime Minister’s comments, the WICB issued a statement in which it pretty much said that the Prime Minister needed to inform herself of the issues before she makes public statements on the matter. The WICB stung the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) into action. They defended the Prime Minister and lashed the board for being disrespectful. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, in describing the WICB’s statement was being rude, has promised to take the matter to CARICOM.

So arising from this meeting of the WICB meeting this weekend, word is that President Julian Hunte will be trying to set up a meeting with Prime Minister Simpson Miller in an attempt to mend fences. If this is true then perhaps the board has realized that in this instance it has bitten off more than it can chew. The JCA, despite working behind the scenes to bring about a resolution to the issue, has largely been silent on the Gayle affair. However, with the backing of the Prime Minister, they seem to have grown some cojones and is now willing to challenge the WICB. Remember now that the WICB currently has issues ongoing with the Guyanese Government that recently appointed an Interim Management Committee headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, to oversee the sport in that country. This, after Guyanese sports minister Sir Frank Anthony, disbanded the Guyana Cricket Board.

The board has also had to contend with Lloyd’s resignation from his post as a director of the board. In his resignation letter Lloyd implored the board to look into itself and see if there is not a better way to manage the sport across the region. In short, right now the board seems to be on shaky ground. We can only hope that if the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Simpson Miller and Julian Hunte will bear some fruit with regards to the Gayle issue and the overall management of the sport.

Since she has chosen to get involved the Prime Minister would be well served to have a discussion with Gayle as well. He too needs to show some contrition and come to understand that this mentality of not backing down even when it is evident that he is also at fault, makes no sense. Fine, he doesn’t need the WICB to make money hand over fist. If he chooses to retire from international cricket nothing can stop him from plying his considerable hitting skills anywhere he wants to for as long as he can. In the meantime, the public wants to see Gayle. He is the best asset the WICB have right now. Just recently after his explosive knock at Sabina Park against the Windward Islands, the stands emptied. Whether the board wants to accept it or not, they need Gayle more than he needs them.

The common belief is that without Gayle playing for the West Indies against Australia there will be considerable less interest in the series. If nobody watches the board will not be able to guarantee as much earnings from broadcast rights from other series. They should know that people don’t pay to see the board. They pay to see the players, and more specifically they will pay to see Gayle consistently hitting the ball way over the boundary ropes.

That being said, no man is bigger than the sport and Gayle needs to understand that that applies to him as well. His comments may be true but he chose the wrong forum in which to vent them. For that alone he should fashion an appropriate apology, the board can then bring him back into the fold and we can get on with the business of playing cricket once more.

Too much time is being spent talking about this impasse when more of it should be spent talking about Gayle’s incredible knocks.

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8 Responses to “WICB PRESIDENT TO MEET PORTIA?”

Norris says:

February 27, 2012 at 1:24 pm

Prime Minister must run Julian and his friends for too long they have been disrespecting Jamaica and Jamaicans.
samuel plummer says:

February 27, 2012 at 9:02 pm

we need christ Gayle to play so we can enjoy some Good Batting again we know sammy is on good but e is the Board boy
michael_chambers_sr@yahoo.com says:

March 2, 2012 at 8:44 am

My fellow cricket lovers, in most car accidents the driver with the right of way is usually the one pronounced dead at the accident. Crude and rude have no place in our vocabulary when we are in a discussion with other officials.The WICB HAS ALREADY LOST ITS CREDIBILITY. Our Prime Minister in her encounter with Mr.Hunte must use diplomacy to diffuse the tension. Name calling and finger pointing will not solve the problems of West Indies Cricket. She must encourage the President to take another aporach, eg. revisit the ‘Patterson report’.
It takes a woman, however, to face the problem head on. The othe heads (men) were afraid of the ICC. GOVERNMENTS, IF THEY ARE FUNDING ANY PART OF THE PROGRAM, MUST SPEAK UP FOR ITS PEOPLE. This meeting should not be about Gayle, we should visit the operations of the board as it pertains to how they implement disciplinary actions taken against players.
Messengjah says:

March 2, 2012 at 9:07 pm

Nowhere in the article was there any mention of the following, which should have attendant apologies:

1. The pre-meditated public attack on the fitness of Gayle as captain of the Windies by CEO Hilaire. Even before taking up the post of CEO he made it clear that he did not like Gayle as captain of the team; ostensibly a precursor to his crusade to get his country man Sammy to take Gayle’s spot.

2. Coach Gibson publicly chastised the senior players (meaning Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul) for the team’s early exit from the last Cricket World Cup.

Gayle simply responded truthfully to questions posed to him on a public radio forum. Therefore all of this nonsensical call for him to retract and apologise for his statements is merely an attempt by the WICB to save face. The WICB leadership is incompetent and should be removed without further delay, if the region’s cricket is to have any chance of embarking on a path of sustainable improvement.
omar bacchus says:

March 3, 2012 at 8:57 am

GCB assets hijacked by private company PDF Print E-mail
Written by
Friday, 02 March 2012 22:34
…This shocking state of affairs must, at a minimum, be of the greatest concern to the Guyanese public and the entire Caribbean region – AG Anil Nandlall
IN a shocking new twist in the ongoing saga of the embattled Guyana Cricket Board, it has been revealed that all properties which were once owned by the GCB are now owned, or ‘hijacked’ by a private limited company which is owned and controlled by certain executives of the GCB.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mr. Anil Nandlall said this state of affairs must, at a minimum, be of the greatest concern to the Guyanese public and the entire Caribbean region. “It is difficult to predict how the West Indies Cricket Board would react,” he said.
And in the ongoing legal proceedings which have been filed by Nandlall against thirteen (13) persons who purport to be officers of the GCB, the Attorney-at-Law for the Defendants, yesterday, filed an Affidavit in Answer to those proceedings.
This Affidavit was sworn by Anand Sanasie in which he deposes, under oath, for the first time, that on the 29th of August, 2011, that is, after the Honourable Chief Justice Ian Chang had pronounced, inter alia, that the Guyana Cricket Board has no legal persona, is a legal non-entity and the election of officers to that body cannot be recognised by the Court, a Resolution was passed by the Executive Committee of the Guyana Cricket Board, comprising the said thirteen (13) persons, to transfer all the assets of the Guyana Cricket Board over to a private limited liability company bearing the name D.E.B. Essential Organization Inc.
The said resolution was attached to the Court documents. Also attached, were the Certificate of Incorporation of this limited liability company and the incorporating documents, which disclosed the following:

Anand Sanasie and Fizul Bacchus are the incorporators of this company; and
Anand Sanasie is the company secretary;
Anand Sanasie is a director of the company;
Fizul Bacchus is a director of the company.
On the said 29th day of August, 2011, the following persons were also appointed directors:
Ramsay Ali, Alfred Mentore, Dru Bahadur, Anand Kalludeen, Colin Europe, Troy Mendonca, Terrence Holder, Rayon Griffith, Nazimul Drepaul,
Raj Singh, Sheikh Ahmad.

By a Deed of Transfer, executed by Chetram Singh and Lionel Jaikarran, as trustees of the Guyana Cricket Board, transferred to D.E.B. Essential Organization Inc., all assets and properties of the Guyana Cricket Board and further authorised D.E.B. Essential Organization Inc. to take the necessary legal steps to regularise ownership of the said properties.
These properties include: all office and other furniture, cricket gear, the LBI Hostel and Practice Facility, Anna Regina Hostel, the GNIC Practice Facility, GCB office, one minibus, the media centre at Bourda, Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry Account No. 1084826, Demerara Bank Account No. 400-7217, Bank of Nova Scotia Account Nos. 6717 and 7312, Republic Bank Account No. 650-556-4, New Building Society Account No. C1873.
“It must be emphasised that the aforesaid mentioned persons, as a grouping, have filed no less than five legal proceedings in which they have sworn a number of Affidavits under oath never disclosing to the Court anything in respect of the aforementioned matters,” the Attorney General posited.
Indeed, these Affidavits contain what appear to be numerous false assertions, that these very properties which are aforementioned are owned by the Guyana Cricket Board. These proceedings were filed by these persons in their purported capacity as officers of the Guyana Cricket Board.
Numerous public statements have been made by these persons over the last six months positively saying that the Government and the Minister of Sport are interfering with the assets of the Guyana Cricket Board.
“Well, since August, 2011, these assets have been owned by a private company which is owned by these very persons,” Nandlall said.
These documents, including the several affidavits, will be transmitted to the Police.
Last Updated on Friday, 02 March 2012 22:39
Henry Muttoo says:

March 3, 2012 at 9:56 pm

What should Chris Gayle apologise for, speaking the truth? The problem with West Indies cricket is that is is run by a group of third-rate cricketers who have no imagination. Other regional Governments must join Jamaica and Guyana and call a halt to this nonsense and let the ICC do what ever they like.
Tracey Caesar says:

March 11, 2012 at 8:47 pm

Who the hell pays to see Hunte or Hiliaire? Who or what gave them the right to marginalise a player “Indefinitely”. Is Gayle going to be omitted forever? Without the benefit of a disciplinary hearing? Who the hell are these “Demi-Gods” of West Indies Cricket? Well I am going to ban myself from West Indies cricket. Long live Trinidad cricket, Jamaica cricket. R.I.P. West Indies Cricket Hunte & Hiliaire Ltd.
hit above the knee roll says:

March 18, 2012 at 10:06 am

While not being a fan of Mrs Portia Simpson Miller nor for the commitment of Mr Gayle to the technical aspects of the game, I must say if it was rude of the don ( Hillaire’s view of Gayle ) to speak the gospel according to the book of Chris and he and his gang ( all Jamaicans )were sentenced to life without a trial, why then should the hierarchy of the WICB be granted audience for them to clear up what they said or apologize in secret for what they did?