Bassarath: TTCB will support recommendations from Caricom conference

TRINIDAD and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath says the local cricket body will be willing to support the recommendations that will be made at the end of the April 25-26 Caricom Regional Cricket Conference — Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket — which is being held at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain.

Bassarath made the remarks during day one of the conference on April 25 as he fielded questions from the media.

“Some of the things that were raised and the recommendations on the floor from the prime ministers, I think Cricket West Indies (CWI) has to give it serious consideration,” said Bassarath, who also serves as CWI vice-president.

“I’m pretty confident Dr (Kishore) Shallow, as president of CWI, will move in that direction. As a shareholder of CWI, the TTCB, we will do whatever it takes to support the recommendations.

“It depends on the other territorial boards who have to support it, and if they want to see the cricket move forward, they will of course support it.”

Bassarath’s own TTCB administration came in for scathing criticism during April 25’s morning session, as West Indies fast bowling legend Michael Holding slammed both the TTCB and the CWI for their lack of transparency.

Holding, now a retired commentator, was particularly harsh on the TTCB for their removal of its treasurer, Kiswah Chaitoo, who reported a matter of the misuse of funds, amounting to approximately $500,000 to the local authorities. A vote of no-confidence was moved against Chaitoo on February 28, but Bassarath says he and the administration did nothing wrong in the matter and he insists Chaitoo “breached the constitution of the board.”

During his emotional virtual address at the Caricom conference, Holding asked, “What power has the (Caricom Prime Ministerial) Sub-committee got to make sure the recommendations are implemented after the conference?”

Holding also said, “If (president) Shallow can’t do it, we need outside pressure.”

Bassarath sees no reason why the CWI can’t adhere to the requests of the committee post-conference.

“These heads of state are West Indians, they are cricket supporters. First of all, we have to look at the cricket itself. And if that can help the cricket, of course, we have to accept the recommendations they are suggesting,” Bassarath said.

“I think first we have to look at the standard of cricket and whether we’re happy with it, and if anyone as a West Indian wants to make recommendations to improve West Indies cricket, I think we have to accept it and embrace it.”

Day one of the conference touched on topics such as the governance of West Indies cricket and the need for its restructuring, the status of CWI’s existing contract with the Caribbean Premier League and the need for the implementation of better developmental programmes at the grassroots level across the region.