Legendary former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has resigned as a director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over his involvement with the controversial takeover of cricket in Guyana.
Lloyd has been at the centre of a furious battle between the government and the Guyana Cricket Board for control of the game in the country.
After several years of controversies among county boards and within the GCB, the Government finally decided to move against the GCB and set up an interim management committee – headed by Lloyd – to run the game in the country. This followed a High Court ruling declaring the GCB as a legal non-entity.
In his resignation letter to the board dated February 14, Lloyd said he had hoped his standing in the game would have made the regional governing body realise that his role in the IMC was a sign that all was not well in the game in Guyana.
The government’s move was met with strenuous opposition from the WICB and cricket’s world governing body, the International Cricket Council. Lloyd was a non-executive director with the WICB and is the current chairman of the cricket committee with the ICC.
In a written response, WICB president Julian Hunte to Lloyd that it was with regret that he accepted the resignation – but there was no doubt that the “Big Cat” would be missed and looked forward to him once again playing a vital role in West Indies cricket.
Hunte said, however, it had been unfortunate that Lloyd had become the IMC head which had compromised his position with the Board.“You will recall that we did agree in August 2011 that the IMC would serve as an advisory body to assist the Guyana Cricket Board to reform and restructure,” Hunte wrote.
“Instead, the IMC has now taken over the functions of the Guyana Cricket Board and purports to act as the legitimate cricketing authority.“Having done so and with you as Chairman, you can appreciate as had been discussed with you, that it would be untenable that you continue as a Director of the WICB.”
Hunte said he hoped Lloyd could bring “a sense of reason” to the Guyana government in reaching an agreement to resolve the impasse. (CMC)
