Guyana President Donald Ramotar says the decision by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to pull the third Test between the West Indies and New Zealand from the National Stadium is a blow to regional integration.
He has rejected the assertion his government is interfering in cricket administration in the South American country.
Ramotar slammed the “arrogant” WICB saying that cricket had historically brought the region together and there the decision to scrap the National Stadium at Providence as a venue was a “slap against the whole integration movement.”
The president said he planned to have discussions with the WICB at some point in time over the controversial Cricket Administration Bill.
“I will have discussions with them and try to see if they could bring people together to find a solution, but they want us to drop some of the things in the Bill that was passed and some other preconditions,” he said.
“The arrogance of the West Indies Cricket Board is unbelievable. Imagine they don’t invest anything in cricket,” Ramotar added.
The president defended the legislation, arguing that it brought accountability and transparency to cricket administration in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).
He said these measures had been instituted because of accusations of corruption and election-rigging in the GBC.
A feature of the bill provides for the post of ombudsman who will be appointed by the sports minister to oversee all elections.
The WICB said recently that Ramotar’s failure to provide assurances that he would not sign the bill into law, forced them to pull the match from Guyana.
Noting they had “serious reservations” about the bill, the WICB said the legislation “thrusts the administration of cricket in Guyana from an independent body to the government.”
