Gordon points to board’s track record

And through the Cricket Committee headed by Clive Lloyd, the WICB will place a high priority on implementing them.

About fifty representatives of stakeholder groups, including the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), the University of the West Indies (UWI), and Territorial and Regional Boards attended the highly interactive workshop.

The meeting sought to add further depth to the strategic plan for cricket development in the region. Gordon, in a closing address, pointed to the track record of achievement demonstrated by the WICB under his leadership. He stressed that the organisation’s public commitments regarding several issues including the Lucky Report, the player impasse, taking the best team to Australia and reducing the board’s deficit were all achieved.

“We ask you to recognise what we said we were going to do and have done them,” Gordon said.

Earlier, the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) signed three agreements. According to WIPA’s President, Dinanath Ramnarine the agreements are “the formal acknowledgement by the West Indies Cricket Board that the WIPA is a full partner in the process of taking West Indies cricket forward.”

The agreements are the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding and a Code of Conduct for Players and Officials.

Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell, who heads the cricket sub-committee of CARICOM Heads of Government, in a luncheon address, warned participants.

“West Indies Cricket does not belong to us in this room. It belongs to the people of this region. Any decisions that we make should be ones which will not only advance the sport but make our people proud,” Dr Mitchell said.

Gordon pointed out that the WICB was extremely aware of its responsibilities to the West Indian people.

“We have a board that genuinely wants to take cricket to a higher level but we need help and institutional support,” he said. In closing, Gordon thanked the Stanford organisation for its support for the workshop and on the success of the Twenty/20 Tournament.

“Twenty/20 is now part of cricket life in the Caribbean and we must continue with it. We will continue to leave the door open. If Mr. Stanford and his group find a way to work with us, we will be delighted.

“The Board is appreciative of what Mr Stanford has done. We will have to get on with it since Twenty/20 is now part of the international cricket agenda,” Gordon said