Mahabir accuses ‘Friends’ of practising double standards

He said a cursory look at the records would reveal that Deryck Murray accepted a Nominated Membership in 1981, while Allen Sammy who served as General Secretary from 1982 to1991, also served in that capacity from 1992 to 1994.

"Sammy resigned as General Secretary in 1991 to embark on a largely unsuccessful political career and re-entered the Board’s fold after the first of his many excursions failed to bring the required results," said Mahabir yesterday.

Mahabir’s observation comes just days before an important election of officers to the executive of the Cricket Board on Saturday at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva.

Murray, a former West Indies wicketkeeper is challenging Dudnath Ramkessoon for the position of president, left vacant after incumbent Ellis Lewis declined to stand for re-election.

The Friends of Cricket have been highly critical of the conduct of the Cricket Board despite the fact that over the past year, Trinidad and Tobago cricketers have emerged winners of all regional championships except the four-day competition. Yesterday Mahabir, who is contesting the position of first vice-president revealed that the spokesman for the Umpires Association, Clarence Shaffarali, has also served as a Nominated Member for the period 1981 to 1989.

"He was not as vociferous then as he is now. For the records Harry Narine also sat as a Nominated Member for the period 1987 to 2002, without interruption and without ever facing the electorate," Mahabir noted.

"As far as constitutional reform goes, the existing constitution was first amended in 1980 to facilitate the transformation from the then Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Council to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control. After that amendments were made in October 1983, July 1988, July 1997 and June 2003," said Mahabir. He said in October 1983 and July 1998, Allen Sammy was the General-Secretary and Lance Murray, father of Deryck Murray, was the First Vice-President. Shaffarali was then a Nominated Member. "When the Constitution was again amended in 1997, Harry Narine was a Nominated Member and Azim Bassarath together with Forbes Persaud were ordinary Board Members. Where were their voices then?," he asked.

"Further, in 2003, when the last amendment was recorded, Sammy was a Board Member representing the National League, while Camal Basdeo and Forbes Persaud were also Board Members," he revealed.

"These men who are so very critical now, were silent when it mattered. Sammy, who participated in four of the five constitutional amendments over a 20-year period should, in particular, absent himself from constitutional discussions.

"He should not now raise himself from self-induced slumber to air constitutional concerns or cricketing concerns, without first telling us what he achieved during his long and, well just long, tenure with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board," Mahabir said.

"Gentlemen, we are all aging, but your memories cannot be so bad that you collectively and conviently forget your time spent as members of the Cricket Board. Let’s just be honest," he said.