Windwards Cricket Board slams Barbados and Guyana Boards

The Windward Islands Cricket Board (WICB), through its acting President, Clement Marcellin, has slammed the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), for their failure to attend the Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) governance reform meeting on December 6, 2024. The Windwards Board, noting this was a critical meeting, said the conduct of these Boards run counter to the betterment of West Indies Cricket.

“The absence of these two key shareholders prevented a quorum, halting progress on implementing the long-overdue recommendations of the Wehby Report,” states the Windward Islands Board in a release.

“This no-show approach by BCA and GCB is a blatant dereliction of responsibility and a slap in the face to the future of West Indies cricket. This behaviour is selfish, reckless, and utterly indefensible, especially when the Wehby Report has been deemed credible and endorsed by Prime Ministers, government leaders, and cricket legends alike,” the release states.

“This unfortunate posture has no place within our organization and should not reoccur.”

The release notes that the meeting was convened to discuss and vote on key governance reforms, including term limits for leadership positions, and other measures to modernize CWI’s governance structure. It adds that despite repeated notifications and the critical importance of the agenda, the BCA remained unresponsive, and the GCB formally declined to attend.

Marcellin urged the BCA and GCB to cease sabotaging CWI’s ability to move forward as a unified organization. He called for “maturity and professionalism in the recognition that the sport belongs to the entire Caribbean and all stakeholders desire the best from administrators in charting the part forward for our cricket,”

The Wehby Report, commissioned in 2019, has been lauded for its comprehensive recommendations to improve accountability, transparency, and operational efficiency within

CWI, the Windwards Board President points out, further explaining that while some reforms have been implemented, progress has been slowed by resistance from certain shareholders. The Acting Windward Islands Board President emphasized the stakes at hand expressing that “This is about more than governance, it’s about the survival of West Indies cricket.”

The actions of the BCA and GCB undermine the trust and credibility of our organization and threaten the future of the sport we all claim to love, the release further states.

“Continued obstructionism is unacceptable, and we at Windward Island Cricket Board hold dearly to the pride of our contributions to West Indies cricket, and encourage an immediate cessation to these deleterious actions which benefit no one.

“The Windward Islands Cricket Board remains committed to the implementation of these key recommendations from the Wehby Report,” the release concludes.

The Windward Islands Cricket Board represents national associations in Grenada, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.