THE WEST INDIES Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday pulled the stumps on play at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence.
And the regional cricket body may also have to switch the third Digicel Test between the West Indies and Australia, scheduled to be played in Guyana from April 23 to 27, to another country.
These decisions were taken after the executive committee of the WICB’s board of directors held a teleconference meeting on Saturday to discuss the Guyana impasse.
As a result, Guyana’s first and second round home matches in the 2012 WICB Regional Four-day tournament against the Leeward Islands (February 3 to 6) and Windward Islands (February 10 to 13) will now be played at Windsor Park in Dominica.
The WICB also said in a press release circulated to the regional media, that the venue for Guyana’s third and fourth round-matches against Combined Campuses and Colleges (February 17 to 20) and Jamaica (February 24 to 27) will be announced at a later date.
Stakeholders
With regard to the Test at Providence, the board said it would make its position known “after discussions with other stakeholders”.
The WICB said it was aware that the Guyana government, through its Interim Management Committee (IMC) under the chairman of former?Test captain Clive Lloyd, has proceeded with various actions relating to cricket in the country without responding to the document agreement from CARICOM.
However, the WICB?said it is sticking to its position that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) “is the sole authorized governing body for cricket in Guyana”.
The board further stated that while it supports the IMC functioning as an advisory body, “the WICB will not recognize or approve any entity other than the GCB as the authorized governing body for cricket in Guyana”.
“The WICB deeply regrets the undue delay by the government of Guyana in responding to CARICOM. The WICB appeals to the government of Guyana to allow the GCB access to its offices in order that it can proceed with the management of cricket in Guyana,” the board said.
Concern
The regional body also expressed concern that the IMC’s actions have resulted in the Guyanese cricketers “being unnecessarily affected in the lead-up to an important regional tournament”.
NATIONSPORT further understands that a 13-man Guyana squad, minus experienced Test batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, were leaving today for Roseau.
Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul is expected to fill in as captain, with left-handed batsman Leon Johnson as his deputy.
Chanderpaul is unavailable because he will be playing in the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 while Sarwan, who was named by the IMC to captain their Guyana side, reportedly had an inconclusive meeting with the GCB.
