The Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB) was not invited to participate in the Guyana Cricket Board Elections which were held on March 28, 2021, according to ECB Secretary Aotto Christiani.
Those elections saw Bissoondyal Singh being elected to the helm of the principal body governing cricket in Guyana.
Speaking with this publication on Tuesday, Christiani explained that the ECB had received notice of the February 26, 2021 election.
“We got the notice a few days before, and we informed the Ombudsman that we believed his notice lacked statutory requirements. We subsequently heard through the media that the meeting did not go on because of the concerns of Essequibo; after which we were expecting the Ombudsman to engage us, but this never happened. The only thing we saw in the media was a release from the Minister of Sports (informing) that the new date for elections would be on March 29, 2021, with no time and venue stated.”
The official said he was surprised at the manner in which the Essequibo Cricket Board was treated.
Meanwhile, present at the elections held on Monday were the Demerara Cricket Board and the Berbice Cricket Board.
The Essequibo Cricket Board is headed by Fizul Bacchus, who on January 26, 2020 had secured the full-time role of GCB President. He served as acting President for close to two years, before the delegation threw their support behind him.
Nevertheless, on instruction from Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr and Cricket Ombudsman Kamal Ramkarran, Monday’s elections were held after years of conflict within the Guyana Cricket Board, which has found itself being embroiled in several court matters over the last decade.
The new executives of the Guyana Cricket Board are: President – Bissoondyal Singh, First Vice President (Administration) – Rabindranauth Saywack; Second Vice President (Cricket Development) – Hilbert Foster; Chairman of the Competition Committee – Shaun Massiah; Public Relations Officer – Claude Raphael; Chairman of the Marketing Committee – Mohamed Baksh; Treasurer – Prittipaul Jaigobin; Assistant Treasurer – Dr Cecil Beharry; Secretary – Ronald Williams; and Assistant Secretary – Devdeerth Anandjit.
The trustees are Elroy Stephney and Andrew Forsythe, while the auditors are Jack Alli, Sons & Co.
Chairman of the Junior Selection Panel is Andre Percival, while Chairman of the Senior Selection Panel is Ramnaresh Sarwan. Technocrat members with right to vote are Anil Beharry and Expert Technical Appointment – Roger Harper.
