BARBADOS’ two representatives believe they were viewed as annoyances at annual general meetings of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).Jeff Broomes and Timothy Boyce, who were elected by Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) members to represent the local body at the annual general meeting of the regional governing body, have delivered a no-ball on the WICB.“As representatives of the BCA, it was felt that we were accorded less than required importance,” Broomes and Boyce wrote in a report to BCA members.“It appeared as though we were seen more as annoyances than as genuine representatives on legitimate business.”Broomes and Boyce attended two WICB annual general meetings during the year 2009-2010.This situation was as a direct result of the fact that while in previous years the WICB held its meetings in August, it changed that schedule to March in accordance with ICC expectations.Pushed back“On both occasions, the scheduled time of the general meeting was pushed back so that a directors’ meeting could be finalised,” the two BCA representatives wrote.“On both occasions, it appeared as though persons had already been pre-selected to move and second motions so as to hasten the process without much discussion or reporting.”Broomes and Boyce were the only two territorial representatives attending the WICB annual general meeting who were not WICB directors. The other territories – Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands – also elected their directors to serve as representatives at the annual general meeting.It is a move that raised concerns among some BCA members in the past who feel “directors and shareholders should not be the same”, while adding “there was a need to separate them to ensure checks and balances”.It was a point hinted at by Broomes and Boyce in their report of the second WICB annual general meeting during the year.Indepth inquiries“It was obvious that the only persons making any indepth queries were the two Barbados representatives,” they wrote.“This was not coincidental since all the others served as both directors and shareholders.”In view of their observations, Broomes and Boyce have given advice on how the WICB should proceed in the future.“It is recommended and hoped that the annual general meeting of the WICB be given more prominence and be seen as more deserving of seriousness,” they said.“It should never be scheduled at the same time as a directors’ meeting and indeed the board should see the importance of having shareholders seeking answers and clarifications, inclusive of the cricket operations and financial arrangements from the directors who are charged with the responsibility of leading the affairs through the year.”
