Latest update August 1st, 2026 12:34 AM
Letter to Sports Editor …West Indies cricket civil war comes to Guyana – time to Boycott Tri Series
Dear Sports Editor,
Cricket fever is about to take over Guyana! Firstly on the field with the tri-nation series and Caribbean Premier League. Off the field WICB & CARICOM are in town for board meetings and the CARICOM cricket sub-committee will make a cataclysmic decision on whether they can or won’t disband the WICB, as many observant fans, media and former legendary players want.
Are Guyanese cricket fans ready to stand up for players who won’t be selected for tri-series?
Is the Guyana cricket media ready to call out WICB President Dave Cameron for failing to solve the GCB cricket crisis?
Are the Guyana government and sports ministry ready to stand with CARICOM?
After many local fans would have obviously celebrated greatly after the men won the T20 world cup title by now it should have dawned that half of that squad won’t be in Guyana next month.
For anyone still unaware according to intransigent and ridiculous WICB selection policies, players such Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo are definitely ineligible – possibly too also Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine.
This is so because they didn’t play in January’s regional one-day competition – but were instead playing in the Australian Big Bash and Pakistan T20 leagues perfecting their skills in that format.
Yet some in the WICB is taking credit for the men’s win, when the team went into the world cup playing the least amount of T20 internationals of any test playing nation since the 2014 T20 World Cup.
If Guyanese are really upset they won’t get a chance to see these world champions live, they have a perfect opportunity to vent their frustration by boycotting the tri-series, similar to how Barbados fans did in 1992 when South Africa toured and local fast bowler Anderson Cummins wasn’t picked.
Hopefully then, Barbados & St. Kitts will follow suit and WICB will get clear idea of fans anger. However, I’m realistic and note this won’t happen in either territory thus Guyanese could also boycott for the disrespect handed out Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Last year when Chanderpaul was denied a farewell test series versus Australia by the selectors, there was a lot of noise made by the WICB, WIPA and GCB.
“We are very disappointed in the manner which Chanderpaul was treated,” WIPA president Wavell Hinds said. “WIPA believes the process of omitting Chanderpaul was untidy and distasteful.”
“Let me make it clear that the president, vice-president and I tried our best to get Shiv retained. In the end the selectors have the final say,” GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie said.
“We trust that our selectors can find it within themselves to revisit this crucial matter of gross disrespect now being meted out to one of the greatest cricketers to have graced the field of play with this most ungrateful display to Chanderpaul. Shiv’s record speaks for itself and we are shocked at the manner that this panel is seeking to destroy him.”
While it was also proven that WICB’s own international investigation regarding Coach Phil Simmons accusation of “outside inference” that President Dave Cameron intervene to try and get Chanderpaul picked.
WICB has humorous new brand initiative called “trust the process” citing their delusional belief that all is well with West Indies cricket. Yet one year later they can’t figure out a way to give Chanderpaul a proper farewell.
In 2011 South Africa organized a special one-off T20 international during their home series against India to farewell Makhaya Ntini, two years after his last game in 2009, given his standing as South Africa’s greatest black cricketer post readmission.
Something similar could have clearly been done for Shiv ahead of tri-series given what he done for West Indies in our period of decline – yet nobody at the GCB, WICB or WIPA thought of it.
As a supporter of the APNU/AFC I have to call them out for their approach to cricket and by extension general sports, after giving them the benefit of the doubt long enough.
It was equally humorous to see the Guyana Cricket Board & Anand Sanasie bestowed sports association and male sports official at the recent National Sports Commission Award ceremony.
On simple performance criteria, they deserved that award. But for the sports ministry to not make a single attempt at investigating the real administrative issues that has been affecting the GCB since coming into office before giving those awards, while also wasting time trying to bring the CPL finals to Guyana is appalling.
When the overall sporting industry in Guyana is struggling – these lack of decisions shows very disconcerting signs that Minister Roopnarine and Director of Sports Chris Jones are out of touch with modern sporting realities.
It pains me to admit that the former tyrannical PPP government did a far better job putting pressure on the WICB & GCB. However, considering how equally useless WICB & ICC are as sporting governing bodies – just like a potential boycott of tri-series isn’t going to happen, neither would change have come to Guyana cricket if the APNU/AFC had done anything significant.
Let the madness continue…
Colin Benjamin
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Colin, instead of talking about boycotting the matches, why not go on an all out approach in terms of requesting Sammy, Gayle, Russel, Simmon, Bravo and Pollard to remain at least this year in the West Indies, so that our young ones could get an opportunity to see and meet them in person. We made them great, it is the rest of the cricketing world, that is benefiting. Is one year without a pay check from India, Australia or South Africa going to send them to the poor house.