Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt promises to deal with "unfinished work"

RICKY SKERRITT and Dr Kishore Shallow have been re-elected unopposed to the posts of president and vice president respectively, of Cricket West Indies (CWI). They will serve a second two-year term. The re-election process was conducted as one of the key items on the agenda of the 22nd Annual General Meeting of CWI, on Sunday.

“I am humbled and deeply honoured to be re-elected to serve as CWI president for a second term,” said Skerritt, whose leadership was briefly challenged by former secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anand Sanasie.

“I take the responsibility to lead the Board of this prestigious organisation, most seriously. We have much-unfinished work to do, and we renew our pledge to work untiringly to help achieve sustainable improvement, both on and off the field, for West Indies cricket.”

Meanwhile, CWI vice president Dr Shallow said expressed gratitude for being able to continue to serve regional cricket.

“I am again grateful for the continued support of the member representatives for Ricky and myself. This re-election is a victory for West Indies cricket as we continue on the path of growing the game across the region, and achieving good outcomes on all fronts and at all levels,” he said.

The AGM was originally scheduled to be held on March 28, but the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) boycotted the elections, which led to the postponement.

Sanasie and Calvin Hope were expected to challenge Skerritt and Shallow respectively in the elections, but then decided not to run.

In a statement received by Newsday on April 1, Sanasie said, “After deep reflection and consultations with my advisers I have decided to withdraw my candidacy for presidency of CWI. I will shortly write to the corporate secretary to advise her accordingly. Consequently, I take this opportunity to extend congratulations and best wishes to Mr Ricky Skerritt since he will be uncontested. I urge that more deliberate efforts be made to strengthen the finances of CWI and to improve in the areas of prudent fiscal management, accountability and transparency.”

Sanasie served as secretary of the GCB executive that was defeated in the GCB elections on March 29.

He and Anand Kalladeen, who served as treasurer on the previous GCB, were the CWI directors representing the GCB under former GCB president Dru Bahadur.

Bahadur was replaced by Bissondyal Singh Snr as the GCB president.

In a Facebook post on March 28, the GCB explained why representatives did not attend the CWI AGM. The release said, “The main reason for this decision was that the current leadership of CWI failed to conform with the statutory requirements of the Articles of Association and present audited financial statement of CWI. Financial statements must be sent to shareholders 14 days before the AGM and are required to be approved by the board of directors. This was not done for the first time in decades.”

In the AGM timeline, the CWI said, “Draft CWI financial statements (were) sent to all members, having been approved by audit risk and compliance and finance committees and CWI board of directors,” on March 13.

The Windward Islands Cricket Board (WICB), the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) and the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) all expressed its sadness that the BCA and the GCB boycotted the elections.

“The WICB expresses sadness at the turn of events at the Cricket West Indies Annual General Meeting scheduled for today March 28, 2021.”

The LICB echoed the sentiments of the WICB.

“The LICB is saddened by the events of earlier today (March 28) at the CWI AGM…the LICB is deeply troubled, perplexed and horrified that the BCA and the GCB, which are globally recognised for producing some of the greatest cricketers to have played the game, were comfortable bringing CWI in such disrepute.”

The JCA’s statement said, “This (boycott) comes at a time when we need to work together to continue the rebuilding of our cricket, which requires a mature approach on the part of everyone especially those in leadership roles.”

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board Azim Bassarath told Newsday the decision by the BCA and the GCB left all the directors shocked.

In addition to the election for president and vice president, the following persons were duly elected as Member Directors of CWI – Conde Riley and Calvin Hope (Barbados Cricket Association); Bissoondyal Singh, Hilbert Foster (Guyana Cricket Board); Wilford Heaven, Dr Donovan Bennett (Jamaica Cricket Association); Enoch Lewis, Leon Rodney (Leeward Islands Cricket Board); Azim Bassarath, Arjoon Ramlal (Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board); Julian Charles, Dwain Gill (Windward Islands Cricket Board).

Due to the covid19 pandemic, the meeting took place virtually via video conference. all of the territorial board member associations were fully represented.