Injustice done to Antony Adams

Dear Editor,
Many are asking for answers, many used social media to express their views. No answer would be fitting to justify the injustice that was meted out to Antony Adams after his non-selection; the damage has already been done to an Essequibian cricketer – a young man who has dedicated and spent most of his life working tremendously hard on his game and fitness over the past 15 years.
A son of the soil who hails from south Essequibo has been knocking at the doors of the Guyana selectors and senior teams with his consistent performance in most GCB competitions for over a decade. Antony Adams has been in the running, competing with some of Guyana’s premier spinners in the likes of Bishoo, Permaul and Motie, all of whom have played regional first class and Test cricket.
At this time, when Bishoo has not been around the Guyana National Team setup and Motie is not available due to CWI selection, most, if not all, cricket pundits who want to be fair towards a man whose stats are there to show in all departments of his cricket, would have chosen Antony Adams as the first choice left-arm spinner to play alongside Permaul in the Guyana team contesting the first two rounds of the 2023 WI Regional Four-Day Championships.
The GCB, ECB and selectors must be held accountable. It is absolutely clear now, from evidence, that the way things are being done is without any fairness, honesty or integrity. The President of the Essequibo Cricket Board, who is a CWI Director, seems unconcerned, since nothing has been said by the ECB, and they remain silent on Adams’s non-selection.
These are the words seen in a WhatsApp message: “As an executive of the GCB, I cannot go public”. We are now left to wonder what this means!!
The ECB Vice-President and Guyana Senior Selector is an individual who is well known to readers for his letters and sports articles in the newspapers about Essequibo’s cricket, especially being very critical of the previous boards and non-selection of this very player Antony Adams. Where are his pen and voice now?
After looking and listening to their press conference, where only three persons from the media were present, it is clearly evident that incompetence and biasness exist in selection. There were ridiculous and nonsensical responses given to questions asked about Adams’s non-selection.
It was very strange what was said by Chairman of Selectors at the press conference, as those words relate to his availability. When called for his input, as an Essequibian, it seems like he would have found himself between a hard place and a rock. Having worked as coach alongside Adams as captain, where a lot of recognitions was gained after winning both 3days and 50 overs titles at the senior level with the Essequibo senior team, with knowledge of his ability and what he can bring to the team, stronger representations and recommendations should have been made for his place in the team.
It’s with great concern that we recognise the kind of representation that is being made by ECB, which can now be considered spineless in representation of our players. It seems as if there is a fixed number – maximum of TWO players from Essequibo – who may be allowed in the squad. Also, when they are selected, they are subjected to unfair treatment to make the final eleven. Just to name a few: Trevor Benn in 2010, Delon Heyliger in 2012, Norman Fredricks in 2015, Quintin Sampson in 2023, all of whom were selected and NEVER given opportunity to play a single game of an entire regional tournament.
The disrespect and injustice meted out to some of our Essequibo cricketers at the senior level can’t be accepted anymore, and must be put to a stop. We will be calling on President Ali, VP Jagdeo, and Ministers to address the unfair treatment given to some of our cricketers, and also the Administration of Cricket by the ECB in the county of Essequibo.

Sincerely,
Public Relations
Officer
Executive Member
South Essequibo
Cricket Committee