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National U19 Captain’s conduct on tour must be investigated

Sep 16, 2016 Sports

As a cricket administrator, I was extremely disturbed by a damning official report against Guyana’s national Under-19 Captain following the conclusion of the WICB U-19 tournament held in St. Vincent recently.
The report dated 2016-08-22 was sent to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) by an external official who was assigned to the team during the tour. I was privy to read the report; the contents of which were quite distasteful and unacceptable, given the serious nature of the offences.
In fact as a stakeholder, I am demanding an immediate investigation into the allegations since the Captain was representing Guyana in the capacity as a Sports Ambassador and his actions certainly would have violated the core principles of diplomacy and due discipline.
I recalled that former youth player Essequibian Ricardo Adams had similar indiscretions on tour two years ago and he was promptly reprimanded upon his return, including being banned from playing competitive cricket for three months. I hope that this matter will receive similar attention with the result being made public.
According to the report, the Captain did not play in the One Day Finals which Guyana won, due to an injury he sustained in a previous match. His disrespectful and demeaning conduct however occurred when he was told in a meeting among the team and officials that it would have been a risk to play him, a decision which was supported by the other players.
The report quoted him as using indecent language and subsequently walking out of the meeting. During the final, the report revealed that he told management that he sought and was given permission by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) to uplift his medical report at a Hospital.
He left and was accompanied by his mother. Interestingly the report added and I quote ‘For the duration of the game Mr. Persaud and his mom never showed up until after the game’.
Could he have been away from the team for almost eight hours just to uplift same? Further, the report added and I quote ‘at the closing ceremony the entire Guyana team collected their medals, individual awards and championship trophy, Mr. Travis Persaud wasn’t there and nowhere to be found’.
While the report continuously revealed uncomplimentary descriptions of Mr. Persaud’s general attitude, it recommended that the GCB move expeditiously to investigate him. This is indeed quite an alarming development, especially by the leader whose stewardship should have been the beacon of the team and Country.
Perhaps I am now even questioning why he was elevated to such status ahead of other senior players given his questionable temperament. Did he demoralize the team morale during the three day tournament when Guyana performed dismally?
The report is pointing in such direction and should be a matter of priority for the GCB. Travis Persaud is currently playing in the GCB three-day Franchise league. Is it business as usual then for this player and the GCB?

Yours Faithfully,
Prince Holder
President
North Essequibo Cricket Committee

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