Cricket funny business – the Patterson Report

33

So we could hit the ball hard and win a One Day game here and there. What does that say for our cricket? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

WICB Games

The West Indies Cricket Board is really a very pathetic institution.

Some years ago the Executive gave the nod of approval to Chetram Singh, President of the Guyana Cricket Board, as its choice for President of the organisation. Later we were told that Singh had declined because he recognised that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had clear rules in respect of individuals involved in the leadership of the game who had in any way been associated with gambling of any sort. Singh has long been the owner of the largest and most successful Horse Racing establishment in Guyana.

Are we to believe that the Executive of the WICB did not know of Singh’s ownership of the Racing Pool?

Are we to assume, too, that the Executive was unaware at the time of the rules of the ICC, an organisation that was once headed by Clyde Walcott of the same WICB?

The only conclusion one can derive from the sordid embarrassing situation referred to above is that the rest of the Executive Committee of the WICB appeared to have been engaged in some sort of setting up of Chetram Singh. They must have known the ICC rules and yet gave the region the impression that despite this they were prepared to have Singh elevated to the top job. Of course the WICB must also have known that once appointed Singh would have been thrown to the wolves by the ICC, in which case they could all have declared that they did all they could to support the Guyanese cricket boss only to have it overturned at the higher level.