Former national cricket captain Daren Ganga is condemning the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB), being led by Azim Bassarath, for its failure to implement the recommendations of an Independent Review Committee (IRC) which was set up for the sole purpose of considering the constitutional arrangements of the Board.
In a strongly worded letter yesterday, Ganga who has openly criticised the way the sport has been managed over the years, said, “The public would be aware there has been numerous complaints throughout the cricketing fraternity as it pertains to governance structure of the TTCB and in particular the process by which the executive of this important national institution is elected.
Ganga wrote: “It is the view of many learned persons that the current provisions of the TTCB constitution are undemocratic, unfair and result in the preservation of a self-serving clique and/or cabal continuously re-electing themselves to control the administration of cricket in T&T.”
He pointed out that an agreement between the cricket board and National League Representatives (NLR), led by Ganga and former national and West Indies spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, for an independent committee comprising Justice Kokeram, Dr Sheila Rampersad and former TTCB president Ellis Lewis, led to recommendations that favour the NLR’s call.
However, the player who opened the country’s batting for more than a decade, is questioning why the recommendations have not implemented to date.
“It is a matter of fact that this committee has concurred with my view and the views of many right-thinking members of the cricket fraternity that the current rules are completely undemocratic and should be changed for the more transparent, effective and participatory administration of cricket,” Ganga wrote in his letter.
The letter continued: “Unfortunately, rather than act responsibly for the benefit of Cricket, the executive of the TTCB led by Azim Bassarath, continues to suppress and delay consideration of this report and refuse to take the necessary steps to have these modern and progressive recommendations implemented. At the last TTCB meeting the Board sought to defend its inaction by offering another legal opinion while keeping its source anonymous, Ganga explained. He described this as unacceptable, and noted: “The concealment of the source and content of this opinion lends to the inference that no opinion was in fact obtained.”
Ganga insists the love of cricket resides in the DNA of every West Indian and in particular every Trinidadian and lashed out at the TTCB members for actions perceived to preserve their own parasitic arrangements.
“It cannot be right that an independent committee, comprising a leading and progressive jurist in our country, tells the executive of the TTCB that its rules are undemocratic and not in the interest of cricket and the executive is allowed to simply ignore that report, for fear that if the recommendations are implemented it may lead to members being deposed from office,” Ganga said.
“That in my respectful view is not the act of an executive interested in cricket but rather the act of a dictatorship desperately clinging to office.”
Parasram Singh, head of the T&T Cricket Umpires and Scorers Council (TTCUSC) who spoke on behalf of the TTCB, said the committee exceeded its mandate by attempting to change the cricket board’s constitution.
“It is attempting to put all powers of the sport into the hands of the clubs by excluding inputs from T&T Women cricketers, schools cricket and the umpires, among others, and has been moving away from West Indies cricket,” Singh said. “The committee was expected to deal solely with the 12 out-going votes being held by executives at present but it went beyond its scope.”
Some of the recommendations included the change in name of the TTCB to Cricket T&T; change in the name of the annual general meeting (AGM) to annual cricket conference and change in the name of TTCUSC to Zonal Cricket Umpires.
WALTER ALIBEY
