GCB responds to Minister Charles Ramson Jr.
Charles Ramson Jr.
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has responded to comments made by Sports Minister Charles Ramson Jr. yesterday following a visit to the National Stadium in Providence as a result of complaints made in media articles about damage done to the cricket pitches at the venue because football is played there on New Year’s Eve.
This is the full text of the statement issued by the GCB.
‘The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has a mandate to organize, promote and manage the development and operations of cricket in Guyana. This includes ensuring that proper facilities are used in accordance with prescribed standards for regional and international cricket. These standards also guide our decisions when choosing facilities for domestic games, as well as for guiding the formulation of our facilities upgrade initiatives. This direction is evident by the huge investment in time and money spent at the LBI facility. Such an investment serves to reiterate the significance of specified standards for conducting professional cricket activities and the use of path exercises required by players to reach levels of professionalism. Therefore, it would be a mistake to underline the significance of ensuring and / or mandating that the minimum standards of facilities are maintained.
It must be acknowledged that the GCB has consistently opposed various aspects of the Cricket Administration Act based on strong and valid arguments. As a result, the GCB finds it depressing that once again there appears to be political interference in the administration of cricket in Guyana, Minister Charles Ramson Jr. seems to have fired the interference on this occasion this.
However, it must be acknowledged that the challenge of the GCB to the Cricket Administration Act remains to be heard. The GCB strongly believes that once the same challenge is heard, the arguments put forward by the GCB will be spontaneously carried out. Apart from this, the GCB does not currently wish to comment on details relating to court matters, as such matters are subordinate judiciary.
Further, as relevant to the current nature of the pitch square at the National Stadium, Providence, the GCB wrote to facility managers seeking to use the ground for preparing the Guyana Jaguars squad, for the Super 50-Regional tournament. scheduled for February 2021. The application to be used for preparation activities for this facility was aimed at game simulations, and having become familiar with the type of surfaces it offers, it was felt that the pitch square at the National, Providence Stadium would give the Guyana Jaguars adequate preparation for their regional meeting.
However, the GCB was notified by Stadium management of damage to the pitch square, and subsequently visited the same facility to observe the informed compensation. As a result, the GCB has a video illustrating the severity of the damage to aspects of the pitch square on the day of our visit.
In addition, it must be noted that the GCB did not issue a press release at any time, as stated by Minister Ramson, on the square nature of the pitch following the recent football matches played at the Guyana National Stadium. In fact, the GCB secretary noted in an invited comment from widely recognized job media sources with reference to the maintenance and management of international facilities, and in this case his applicability to the pitch square.
It must also be noted that when Minister Charles Ramson Jr. took office, he called the GCB to a meeting attended by all executive members except three such members. The meeting seemed to have projected the need for united friendship and trust in achieving the cricket goals and objectives for the country.
However, the Minister clearly sought to use his office to facilitate the approval of cricket in Guyana, a role and function normally performed by the GCB in fulfilling its mandate to organize, develop, promote and manage cricket in Guyana. As a result, the GCB objected to this approach which apparently sought to undermine the power and authority conferred on the GCB. Here again, the GCB reiterates its view that the Cricket Administration Act needs to be revisited in order to clearly avoid government interference and other controversial clauses.
As a result, due to the unavailability of the Stadium, GCB will now be forced to play their three (3) pre-tournament practice matches at the LBI facility on Monday 18 January 2021, Thursday 21 January 2021 and Saturday 23 January 2021. ”