Phillips calls for Guyanese Association to address underlying issues

Regional Blind Cricket Tournament postponement

By Jemima Holmes

A visually impaired Leroy Phillips has been involved in ‘blind cricket’ in Guyana for more than a decade now, after dabbling in the sport for the first time back in 2006. Throughout the years, Phillips has represented Guyana, and even the West Indies, regionally and internationally in said sport.

While one might look at Phillips’s track record and assume that he is satisfied with the way the sport is being run in Guyana, it would be shocking to know that this assumption is horribly wrong.
Under different circumstances, in a matter of days, Phillips would have been with the members of the Guyanese Blind Cricket Team, participating in the regional cricket tournament. However, it was disclosed earlier this week that the tournament will be postponed until early October, owing to a lack of funds on the part of the host nation, Guyana.
It was reported in a different section of the media that while the Blind Cricket Association was able to secure some $800,000 from the National Sports Commission (NSC), an additional $2 million was requested from the Government of Guyana but was not received. For this reason, the organizers were forced to postpone the tournament.
Declaring the lack of funds as rather unfortunate, Phillips was adamant that, for more reasons than one, those who are responsible for the management of the association should not be given any money until the association functions in a proper manner.
“I’m not sure what direction the Blind Cricket Association is headed in, but as a player, I am not going to call on Government to support them financially now or anytime soon, until they get their houses in order,” Phillips declared.
When asked to elaborate on why he would make such a call, Phillips explained the current state of the association, noting that it needs to have a proper governing body in order to be run smoothly.
“You must have a board to properly run any sport or organization. You have to have a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, a PRO etc., so that those persons can function in their respective capacities to help build the organization. Blind cricket has not been benefiting from that; and it’s deliberate, in my estimation,” he disclosed.
To this end, Phillips was probed about whether or not the Blind Cricket Association has a constitution or guidelines according to which they are obligated to operate. His answer was in the negative.
“I have not heard anything about a constitution. They have not had an election to appoint new leaders of its board. It had before, since they had their first or second election,” he said.
Furthermore, the vastly experienced visually impaired cricketer stressed the need for such a document. “We have to have it. Anybody who wants to be a part of a sports organization or government, you have to have a system that you follow. It’s not a rum shop that you’re running. The Blind Cricket Organization doesn’t even have proper cricket gear.”
Returning to the topic at hand, Phillips stressed the plight of those countries that have already booked plane tickets to Guyana, or have already arrived here.
“They cannot host a tournament in October like they’re saying when Barbados and Trinidad have already booked tickets, or are in Guyana. Those teams, like Guyana, have struggled to access funds to travel; so you could imagine them taking 6, 8, 9 months to get tickets to come in August. How fast will they get tickets to come back in October? If Guyana gets 2 million from their government.”
Meanwhile, according to Phillips, this is not the only issue that is facing the Association. The player also claims that there isn’t enough gear for the cricketers, noting that they often have to share during the games.
“You can’t afford to purchase your own items to play cricket. It’s not extremely costly, but it’s still costly to the point where, when you collect you public assistance from the Government, you wouldn’t use that to buy cricket gear and you have yourself to feed or a family to look after,” he lamented.
Phillips is also alleging that the Guyanese team would not even be ready to compete, given that they have not had any formal practice sessions in over a year.
“The Guyana Blind Cricket Team is far from prepared for the tournament. the team hasn’t had any practice sessions in the last 18 months. In fact, since the team participated in the regional tournament in 2017, which we hosted, it was the last time — some of our players recall — setting foot on a cricket field,” he stated.
While Phillips would be ecstatic to see the tournament return to Guyana, he is of the opinion that the other issues should be addressed before the Blind Cricket Association ventures into such. Outlining a place to start, he noted that without a legal board, there will be no accountability and transparency in the association.