WICB discusses Guyana cricket bill with government

The WICB has met with representatives of the Guyana government to discuss its concerns with the Guyana Cricket Administration Bill that was passed by the national assembly in May. Following meetings on June 23 and 24, the WICB issued a statement saying that all parties involved agreed there were issues with the bill that needed to be redressed.

The WICB will now prepare a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) which identifies areas of the bill that need to be revised, what the revisions should be, and a timeline for implementation of the revisions. The MoA will be signed by the WICB, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the government of Guyana.

The bill paves the way for new GCB elections, bringing an end to the longstanding impasse between the board and the government; the issue dates back to the contentious elections in July 2011, when Ramsey Ali was elected president. The elections were boycotted by some of the board's constituent members, one of which, the Berbice Cricket Board, took the GCB to court, claiming the new administration was not properly established. The Chief Justice had recommended then that "there may be immediate need for the minister responsible for sports to impose his executive will in the national interest".

Following that ruling, Guyana's sports minister Dr Frank Anthony appointed an Interim Management Committee (IMC), headed by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, to run cricket in Guyana. The WICB, however, refused to acknowledge the IMC, in keeping with the ICC's stance against government intervention in cricket administration, and said the only authority it would recognise was the GCB.