It is currently an eventful period in Guyana’s cricket following the ruling made by Madam Justice Fidela Corbin that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is illegal and the appointment of Cricket Ombudsman Stephen Lewis is illegal.
Confirmation of this ruling was made by attorney Arudranauth Gossai. He said this turn of events came about because the last GCB elections were deemed illegal.
Sharing his sentiments in an exclusive interview with this daily publication, Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) secretary Anand Sanasie had this to say: “For the (Guyana) Cricket Board to move forward, we need to have the facts straight. To the extent that we know there is a court order, we will comply, and obviously appeal whatever decision isn’t in our favour”.
GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie
Speaking on the cricket Ombudsman situation, Sanasie said the appointment of the Ombudsman was conducted by Minister George Norton on March 12, 2019, and Stephen Lewis’s appointment is not illegal as far as Sanasie is concerned. Earlier, it was revealed that the GCB elections should be done by January 26, 2020.
“The Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) and Mr Roger Harper of Georgetown, they’ve had court orders; but we ensure that the cricket is played, but we can only play within the regulations, we will not breach any court order,” Sanasie revealed.
He added that the GCB had always shown their interest in cricket, regardless of what’s going on in court.
Stephen Lewis
“However, I would like to state that the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) has not put forward any cricket team to participate in any youth competition of the GCB for the past six years. The people that filed the court action should be responsible for this situation, not the GCB.” Those were the exact words of Sanasie.
“We will abide by any court decision. We will use the court system and any available means to do what we have to do in a legal and legitimate way”, Sanasie disclosed.
He said the GCB would look forward for the ombudsman to be allowed to verify the plots across Guyana, “and we look forward for every cricket organisation and cricket club from every county board to legitimately have the elections”.
The decision made by the court will affect all cricket in the country, he acknowledged. Its effect was seen when the Under-17 Inter-County tournament that was scheduled for Saturday, April 5, 2019 was postponed. One reason why this occurred was because the sponsors for the Under-17 tournament pulled out following the court decision.
The previous day, Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) secretary Rabindranath Saywack, in an exclusive interview with this publication, said this situation is a win-win situation for cricket in Guyana, because, in the year 2009, cricket in Guyana was in deep controversy.
“From that point to present, cricket in the country was suffering; but there is an argument that cricket is on the rise in Guyana. If it wasn’t for the BCB, cricket in the country would have been doomed”, Saywack declared.
He also revealed that the GCB had not aided the development of cricket in Berbice, but the vibrant BCB had reaped the success of hard work that it invested in development of players and cricket facilities.
“Under extreme conditions, we have been working day and night to provide a future for the young cricketers. GCB just coming and taking the credits”, Saywack disclosed.
From a BCB point of view, he elaborated on the BCB struggle to find finances in recent times. “The GCB was supposed to release the BCB one million plus dollars to aid in cricket development and management. They have not done this since 2009, and even prior”, Saywack stated.
Sanasie, who holds the position of Cricket West Indies Director, said he understands that the court order is a lengthy decision, but he revealed that he was not present at the court. “As soon as the GCB is served, we will put out a detailed statement on the way forward”, he explained.
