Tension, confrontation at TTCB meeting

TENSION led to confrontation on Wednesday evening as the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) held its second quarterly meeting at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva.

The heated debate inside led to a confrontation between two senior members in the car park as the meeting ended after 9pm.

Former national and West Indies leg-spinner, and Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) chairman Dinanath Ramnarine has issued a letter of complaint to TTCB secretary Arjoon Ramlal, condemning the alleged actions of former Minister of Sport Manohar Ramsaran after the four-hour long meeting.

Ramsaran and Daren Ganga were engaged in a conversation before Ganga was summoned by Ramnarine for a Newsday interview with this reporter.

However, the normally mild-mannered Ramsaran approached Ramnarine gesticulating, and openly accused the former West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president of disrespect.

In an interview shortly after, Ramnarine commented, “You would have witnessed, I have said nothing to the individual. Mr Ramsaran has reached out in an aggressive manner in the presence of several members.”

Ramnarine added, “I walked away, I never raised my voice, I never did anything.”

Speaking to Newsday yesterday evening, Ramsaran, a former Government Minister, downplayed the incident, describing it as a “verbal exchange” and “friendly banter”. Ramsaran, 69 years old, said he is not young and strong anymore and said Ramnarine’s “allegations can really hurt someone in their senior years.”

Ramnarine’s letter of complaint to the TTCB gives a different account of what transpired, making several allegations including that Ramsaran “charged towards” him after he interrupted his conversation with Ganga.

“The witnesses...will testify that I did not provoke, retaliate or say anything to Ramsaran as I quietly walked away,” Ramnarine said.

“This situation has left me shaken and with a strong feeling of unease,” he said.

The duo of Ramnarine and Ganga have been clamouring for the TTCB hierarchy, led by Azim Bassarath, to change its constitution to a one-man one-vote system and replace the 12 outgoing votes enjoyed by the Executive.

Earlier this week, Ramsaran, who is the president of Munroe Road Sports Club, called on Ramnarine to relinquish one of his two positions (either with SPORTT or with the TTCB) due to a conflict of interest.

Ramnarine stressed, “My lawyers are going to deal with that. I’m not going to comment publicly about any of these things. I try to conduct myself in a professional manner.”

With regards to the meeting itself, Ganga was disappointed that a motion brought forward to discuss the Independent Review Committee (IRC) report was defeated by the TTCB executive.

The IRC report, compiled by Justice Vasheist Kokaram, newspaper columnist Dr Sheila Rampersad and former TTCB president Ellis Lewis, recommended that the Board changes its approach to governance to ensure fairness and transparency. But the TTCB later expressed concerns that the IRC had breached their terms of reference in producing the contentious document.

Bassarath was quoted in a Newsday report on Wednesday saying that the IRC report was not on the day’s agenda.

Referring to Wednesday’s meeting, Ganga, the former TT captain and WI batsman, admitted, “I’m disappointed, as a member of the Board. The Board would have agreed to a certain process with regards to the resolutions which (were) passed and the Independent Review which it sought.”

Ganga, now a television commentator, continued, “The decision at the special meeting was for the Board to receive independent legal advice. That advice was actually presented before the membership of the Board. It saddens me that we had to move to the point of actually forcing the resolution to be heard, first of all, and to be accepted.”

“They eventually get legal advice (and) now they’re voting against the legal advice,” Ramnarine said. ‘The legal advice is to correct the resolution. The Board continues to delay, because of their refusal to accept the changes in terms of good governance.”

Ramnarine added, “It is disrespectful to the IRC, people whose integrity will be unquestioned. (The TTCB) get the changes that the Board (members) voted on and they refused it. They say it’s breached. They get the legal advice and they’re refusing to correct the breaches.”

Asked what would be the next step, Ganga replied, “As a member of the Board, I look to the leadership to give direction because that is what you accept from a leader. I reiterate that our constitution speaks to cricket in the 1980s and it doesn’t speak to modern-day cricket. That is a big disconnect that we’re seeing.”

Attempts to reach Bassarath via his cellphone yesterday proved futile.