ECCB Secretary issues apology to Raphael for mistake

Dec 25, 2008 Sports

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“Rampersaud did not write on behalf of ECB” says Singh

By Sean Devers
In his attempt to justify the decision to appoint Pretipaul Jaigobin as acting chairman of the Demerara Cricket Board despite his lack of a cricketing background and technical knowledge of the sport, Secretary of the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) Judister Rampersaud claimed that Chairman of the Guyana senior cricket selection panel had also never played competitive cricket.
“With all respect to Mr. Claude Raphael, who is Chairman of the National senior selectors, he did not play competitive cricket either but there is a convenient calm up there,” Rampersaud wrote in a story captioned ‘East Coast Cricket Board responds to issues raised by critic’ published in the Saturday December 20 issue of the Stabroek News.
Raphael in fact represented Malteenoes as a Wicketkeeper and opening batsman in the Case Cup first division cricket competition in the 1970s prompting President of the East Coast Cricket Board Bissoon Singh to issue an apology to Raphael on behalf of the ECB secretary.
“It was a genuine mistake by Mr. Rampersaud who has been in cricket administration for over 20 years and he wants to issue an apology to Mr. Raphael since he was not aware that he played competitive cricket and retracts that statement from his letter to the media,” Singh told Kaieteur Sport.
The ECCB Head explained that Rampersaud did not write on behalf of the ECCB but personally as a cricket fan.
Here is the letter penned by Judister Rampersaud with the paragraph about Raphael being omitted.
“The East Coast Cricket Board is compelled to respond to a letter by R Henry captioned “Who are these people called the Demerara Cricket Board” on page 7 of the Guyana Chronicle, Friday, December 12, 2008.
Besides his boisterous and immature remarks leveled at the Demerara Cricket Board he ventured to go further and questioned the status of
cricket on West Demerara and East Coast.
It is West Demerara’s business whether they care to reply.
East Coast Cricket stretches from Ogle to Abary River.
For this year one of the premiere facilities at La Bonne Intention was unavailable while Enmore could only have been used occasionally.
Also many communities were hard pressed to maintain their grounds.
Climate change and the inclement whether also affected our competitions.
Against these constraints the Board was able to achieve the following:
1. The Hand in Hand competition was completed with 33 teams participating.
2. The President Cup which is sponsored by Mr. Bissoondial Singh has the final round to be completed.
3. East Coast participated in the Schools U15 Competition sponsored by the Guyana Cricket Board.
4. Two trial matches were held to select the U 17 squad to participate in the Demerara Cricket Board Competition.
5. The East Coast U17 defeated the visiting Trinidad school boys’ team at the Stadium.
6. All expenses were paid by the East Coast Cricket Board.
7. The Institute of Business Education won the Demerara Zone of the National School Competition but was defeated at the national finals.
8. East Coast is now fielding a representative First Division Team which is financed by the Board.
9. The Carib Beer Twenty 20 semi-final and final will be played off under flood lights, carnival style.
10. The Board held its Seventh consecutive two-week Annual August Academy for eighty five (85) young people.
The Minister of Culture Youth and Sport delivered the feature address and the President of Guyana Cricket Board made the closing remarks.
I wonder whether any other academy was held in Demerara.
Now the rains are here, competitions are suspended.
Without any prejudice it is my turn to ask three pertinent questions.
The Executives of the West Demerara Cricket Board would have had confidence in
Seeram in the first place to select him as their representative on the Demerara Selection Panel.
If after any review they found shortcomings in his performance, it is quiet in order to recall him.
At present Dowlin seems to be an outstanding cricketer and I wish him all the best.
However, he accepted the Demerara captaincy off his own free will. At Berbice in the very first match, Berbice vs Demerara, he relinquished the captaincy at the eleventh hour.
The very next day, a critical match to win to get in the final, Demerara vs Essequibo, he made himself unavailable.
In any civilized society the standard procedure will be his responsibility to tender a statement to the Demerara Board.
Lovell at his press conference at the Demerara Cricket Club claims that he is of the opinion that young players should not be exposed to twenty20 matches. Both Jacobs and Chandrika will be twenty years soon. Jacobs is vice captain of The West Indies U-19 team and is also in the senior squad while Chandrika is in peak form.
Twenty 20 cricket is here to stay. How long do you wait to pit them in the fray?
These problems could have been solved amicably. You do not need world knowledge of cricket administration to do that.
Obviously, and rightly so, the officials of the Demerara Cricket Board have set a litmus test. The decisions they make in the boardrooms they monitor their strict implementation. This whole episode is now saturated.
Since Jaigobin has been appointed acting Chairman of the Demerara selectors there has been a storm in a teacup.
Jaigobin has wherewithals to hold his own and engage any other selector in Demerara.
If pen writers continue to write indiscriminate we will end up with a few non compos mentis.
J Rampersaud
Hon Secretary
East Coast Cricket Board

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