‘Greed driving force behind Friends of Cricket’

A GROUP of ex-national and international cricketers calling themselves “Friends of Cricket,” have expressed concern with the current state of local and by extension West Indies cricket. And they vehemently indicated they would not stand idly by and allow the current state of affairs to continue. But TTCB chief executive officer Alloy Lequay, and its president for over 25 years said “The proposal was an intriguing situation conceptualised by over-ambitious men whose passion was driven by greed and envy and not service.” And he pointed out, “The real attraction is the assets of the cricket board and the projected surplus from which the board will benefit from World Cup 2007. It is a matter for those who did not sow any cricket seeds, to now position themselves to reap,” Lequay said.

Friends of Cricket held an initial meeting at Mandela Hall, Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence on May 24, in what they described as an inspirational venue, to discuss “cricket as it is today and what it should be and to identify measures required to implement necessary changes.” This group included ex-Trinidad and West Indies left-arm spinner Raphick Jumadeen, Azim Bassarath, current Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies women cricket coach Anne Browne-John, Gail Daniel-Worrell, Theophilius Trim, Forbes Persaud, Harry Narine, ex-West Indies wicketkeeper Deryck Murray, ex-national team manager Omar Khan and Dr Allen Sammy among others.

These Friends of Cricket pledged to work for the welfare of Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricket and have identified some of the issues as the relationship between the TTCB and its stakeholders; a need for a more democratic constitution; lack of a structured finance and marketing plan; a more structured relationship between Trinidad cricket and Tobago cricket; the allround development of individual players and their transition from youth to senior cricket; and the structure of club cricket and its quality. But most of all, the Friends of Cricket are seeking “the integration of cricket administration for both women and men.”

Friends of Cricket also expressed their concern with the leadership of the TTCB, and said they observed at their last elections, the executive pointed to the need for “continuity and stability by their own succession plan,” which has proven to be what they described as a complete sham. They claim that two years on, Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricket are in more disarray than they have ever been. A news release yesterday, under the heading “Movement for change in Cricket” indicated, “the group refuses to stand idly by while the incumbent leaders seek to maintain the status quo and to further strangulate the game.”

Friends of Cricket indicated their intention to continue to meet and discuss the way forward for the general improvement of Trinidad and Tobago cricket, and said they welcome contributions of other interested stakeholders. Lequay stated: “To suggest that the TTCB has no development plan and lack vision is to be dishonest as we won the Under-15 Regional Tournament four times in the last six years, apart from which we have Under-10, Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, and Under-19, mental preparedness seminars, as well as, training of inductees every year under the supervision of cricketers who had already made their mark on the West Indies scene like Gordon Greenidge.”