TT hold key to election of WICB president

TODAY is D-Day as the West Indies Cricket Board meet to select a new president at a Special General meeting in Antigua .

It is understood that Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana will be the key players in the two-man contest to replace the outgoing Wes Hall, a former Test fast bowler. This will be the second election slated this year for the presidency of the WICB following the resignation of Hall earlier this year. The first election was aborted after both nominees Chetram Singh of Guyana and Willie Rodriguez of Trinidad and Tobago withdrew for different reasons. This time around, there are again two nominees, 67-year-old Teddy Griffith of Barbados and Clarvis Joseph, 60, of Antigua. Newsday can confirm that Joseph, who resigned as vice-president under the controversial  president Patrick Rousseau two years ago, has been nominated and seconded by the Leeward Islands and Jamaica respectively. Griffith, a former Barbados player, and current chairman of the WICB Marketing Committee, has been nominated by his home country Barbados and seconded by the Windward Islands. Val Banks, an Anguillan banker who was elected vice-president in Dominica, is currently filling in as president until the elections.

In the WICB, each of the six member countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Leeward Islands, Windward Islands, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana) have two votes each. The president and vice-president each have one vote. With Val Banks in both positions, it is understood he will only be allowed one vote, so that 13 votes will determine the new president and not the usual 14. Both Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana have not as yet officially announced their choice. “Both Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are enjoying this situation, as they are now holding the key towards the final decision on presidency, so we can expect some serious negotiations,” a WICB source stated yesterday. “But there is a strong belief that because of the problems that certain members of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board experienced in the past with the Pat Rousseau/Clarvis  Joseph led WICB,  Trinidad and Tobago are leaning towards Griffith,” he noted. “Guyana on the other hand, had their meeting to decide. Whether they announce it or not, we will see, but some believe they are undecided and will await whatever offers are made by the candidates,” he said. “Initially Guyana were not happy with any of the nominees and examined several possibilities including former Chief Executive Officer of the WICB, Stephen Camacho. But he was not gathering much support before nomination day, so they quickly gave up on this,” said the source.