Guyana remains in limbo for 4 day

 

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyana face the prospect of missing out on the Regional 4-day tournament which begins next month as confusion continued to reign in the management of the sport in the country.

Both the Guyana Cricket Board, the officially recognised body that has governed the sport in the country for more than six decades, and the Government-appointed interim management committee, headed by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd, have this week announced separate 30-member training squads to prepare for the tournament.

GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie said the continued Government lock-out of the national governing body from its offices at Bourda Oval has hampered its operations.

“The current situation is a dire one and if things do not change dramatically this week, we run the risk of the Guyana match at the National Stadium scheduled for February 3 being cancelled or at least moved from our venue,” he said in an article appearing in the local daily, Kaieteur News.

“The directors of the West Indies Cricket Board will be speaking later this week with a view to assessing the situation as it relates to Guyana’s participation in the tournament along with other matters relevant to the current situation here.”

A source said that if the matter remains unresolved, Leeward Islands would now face Barbados, who had drawn a bye for the first round of matches.

The WICB directors are set to hold a teleconference on Saturday, when a firm decision on controbersy is likely to be taken.

The Guyanese almost missed the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which ended last Sunday in Barbados, before an 11th hour solution allowed Christopher Barnwell’s side to take the field.

Talks between the Guyana Government, the GCB and the WICB, mediated by CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin LeRocque, apparently reached a consensus.

The newspaper indicated that the WICB and the GCB stand ready to sign the agreement in its current form, but they were awaiting “the Government representatives’ consultations with their principals”.