As discussions continue about the absence of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) from the recent Cricket West Indies (CWI) governance reform meeting, Tobago Cricket Association (TCA) president Kerwin John believes both did a disservice to regional cricket.
The absence of the BCA and GCB, two of the six territorial boards, halted progress on implementing recommendations from the 2020 Wehby report as a quorum was not met.
Both GCB and BCA subsequently stated their rejection of the Wehby report—drafted by Jamaican business mogul Don Wehby—and objection to CWI’s failure to facilitate a discussion on changing the system of appointing a president.
John, through a Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) release on Friday, condemned the actions of the BCA and GCB, describing their absence as detrimental to regional cricket and to CWI’s efforts to implement much-needed reforms.
“The BCA and the GCB did a great disservice to regional cricket by their shocking action, which can be only described as a dereliction of duty and a betrayal of the trust placed in them by the people who put them in office,” the TTCB release stated.
The Wehby report, which proposes modernizing CWI’s governance framework, also includes key proposals such as term limits, term durations for the president and vice president, and other measures to strengthen board governance.
CWI emphasized that due notice for the meeting had been issued on November 13, in line with its Articles of Association. This marked the second time the BCA and GCB failed to attend such a meeting, the first being in 2021.
John, who was re-elected for a sixth consecutive term as TCA president last month, criticized the motives behind the absence.
“It was surprising to many that the BCA and the GCB would go to such lengths to make the CWI, to which they belong, look bad in the eyes of the West Indian public and indeed the international cricket community. The desperate move by the two dissident stakeholders is doomed to failure,” John said.
His comments echo those of fellow CWI director Arjoon Ramlal, who recently accused the BCA and GCB of attempting to “stymie the progressive push reform overwhelmingly sought by the other members and CWI board.”
However, John affirmed CWI’s resolve to push forward with its governance reforms, despite the setbacks.
“The CWI under Dr. Shallow will remain committed to placing cricket first and not give in to selfish and ulterior inclinations, judging from the support we have received for governance changes from all across the Caribbean, including the public in Barbados and Guyana,” the statement ended. (Sportsmax)
