Cwi

The squads have been confirmed by the Cricket West Indies Selection Panel, with 14 players named per squad and 11 players batting in each innings. Hamilton is humbled and eager to lead one of the squads, especially considering the importance of this contest to all involved.

“There’s going to be some quality. We have the best guys for red-ball cricket in the Caribbean here, so it is going to be a challenge,” he said.

“Also, this game is to select players for the Test team, so it is going to be a great showdown. I am in the captain’s role, so I just want to put my best foot forward and lead the team to victory."

Jermaine Blackwood was equally as elated and is adamant that the fans will be treated with a fine contest.

“The fans can expect great cricket over the next four days because we have some very competitive athletes here,” he said.

“We are ready to go play some exciting cricket starting tomorrow. We are a group of hungry players, who are ready to showcase our talent to the selectors and coaches. I am very honoured to be leading one of the teams. Fans can tune into the West Indies YouTube page to watch the game live.”

The match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.

The links for each day’s live coverage are as follows:

Day 1: https://youtu.be/ZlxHDYMt9No

Day 2: https://youtu.be/kvniMRsupus

Day 3: https://youtu.be/ozr2t6KAwNo

Day 4: https://youtu.be/wpw0LPNg-gM

Meanwhile, four players who played in the recent series against Sri Lanka will be unavailable for the “Best v Best” match.

Jason Holder, the ICC’s Number 1 ranked Test all-rounder arrived in St. Lucia on May 28 and after going through the agreed quarantine protocols will begin training on June 1 once he has returned two negative PCR tests.

Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph are arriving in St Lucia later this coming week following their English County Championship commitments. They will join training after completing the quarantine protocols and once they respectively return two negative PCR tests each.

Blackwood’s team comprises Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keon Harding, Shannon Gabriel, Kavem Hodge, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Joshua Da Silva, Nail Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

Hamilton’s team is Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Kerron Cottoy, Chemar Holder, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Paul Palmer, Kieron Powell, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales and Jomel Warrican.

The match that will be officiated by umpires Joel Wilson, Gregory Brathwaite and Leslie Reifer Jr is set to begin at 9 am Jamaica time. 10 am AST.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Wednesday that the recruitment process for a new director of cricket has begun as the role will become vacant at the end of June when Jimmy Adams' contract expires.

Adams, who played 54 Tests and 127 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies, has been in the role since January 2017.

“We are extremely grateful for the leadership and contribution that Jimmy has made over the past six and half years," said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

"He has overhauled our High-Performance structure, especially with respect to Coach Education and Development, Sport Science and Medicine and most recently with the launch of our Academy based at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua. I have no doubt that Jimmy will continue to contribute to the game, particularly West Indies Cricket.”

Meanwhile, CWI President Dr. Kishore Shallow, lauded Adams for his contribution to West Indies Cricket.

“Jimmy has always served West Indies Cricket with passion and distinction. His composed demeanor and professionalism have inspired many positive outcomes over the years," said Dr Shallow.

"One of his legacies would definitely be the commencement of a coaching revolution in the region. On behalf of the CWI Board, we wish him a favorable future path.”

 Adams said serving West Indies cricket has been a privilege.

“It's been an honour to have been involved in the ongoing evolution of CWI," he said.

"I have had the privilege of working with some amazing people across the organization and am grateful for all the support they gave me over the past six plus years. I wish everyone all the best going forward especially in light of the various challenges that exist both regionally and globally.”

Under the leadership of Jimmy Adams as Director of Cricket, CWI started a Coach Education & Development Department that created a new set of CWI coaching courses and accreditations that has seen over 1,000 new certified coaches in the region; launched the Men’s Academy, based at CCG in Antigua; started an U19 Regional Women’s Tournament, Women’s ‘A’ Team series and the Women’s Caribbean Premier League and established a Sports Science & Medicine Department to drive a fitness culture.

He also implemented a new Selection Policy that included appointing separate Women’s and Youth Selection Panels as well as established the High-Performance Coaching Group.

The two teams have been drawn from the leading performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and those deemed to be on the fringe of the Test team.

The series aims to provide further first-class opportunities to the best performers from the West Indies Championship in a competitive and intense setting, as well as opportunities for players who the selectors believe would benefit from playing red-ball cricket as West Indies prepare for the upcoming “A” Team tour of Bangladesh and the two-Test Series against India at home.

Team Headley and Team Weekes will play against each other and against the West Indies Academy in the three-match series running from 19 April to 6 May, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua. All three matches have been awarded first-class status. The West Indies Academy was unveiled last year and played CG United Super50 tournament last November.

Team Weekes will feature Athanaze who was the leading batter in the West Indies Championship with 647 runs, which included two centuries; left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul the second-highest wicket-taker with 28 wickets; as well as Jahmar Hamilton who was the joint leading keeper with 19 dismissals.

Team Headley will feature experienced left-hander Darren Bravo, who was the second highest run-scorer in the West Indies Championship with 446 runs which included two centuries; fast bowler Akeem Jordan who was third highest wicket-taker with 22 wickets in four matches; as well as Tevyn Walcott, who was the joint leading keeper with 19 dismissals.

“Following the conclusion of the West Indies Championship, we are pleased to have more first-class matches on the calendar,” said CWI Lead Selector Desmond Haynes.

“This is a great initiative and will provide our players with more opportunities as we look ahead to the very important Test Series against India later in the year as well as ‘A’ Team matches. We looked at everyone who was available, and we came up with teams who will be very competitive and push each other.”

All matches in the Headley Weekes Tri-Series will be streamed LIVE on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel with live scorecards and ball-by-ball scoring on the Windiescricket.com live match centre.

Team Headley: Joshua Da Silva (captain), Sunil Ambris, Darren Bravo, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Chaim Holder, Akeem Jordan, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Kieran Powell and Tevyn Walcott.

Team Weekes:  Alick Athanaze (captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Keacy Carty, Dominic Drakes, Jahmar Hamilton, Brandon King, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Veerasammy Permaul, Raymon Reifer, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith and Devon Thomas.

West Indies Academy: Kevlon Anderson, Ackeem Auguste, Joshua Bishop, Teddy Bishop, McKenny Clarke, Rivaldo Clarke, Joshua James, Johann Layne, Kirk McKenzie, Ashmead Nedd, Kelvin Pitman, Keagan Simmons, Ramon Simmonds, Kevin Wickham and Nyeem Young.

According to Cricket West Indies Shai Hope was selected but was given permission to represent Yorkshire in the English County Championship while Rahkeem Cornwall and Shane Dowrich made themselves unavailable for selection.

MATCH SCHEDULE

All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua

Match 1: 19-22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy

Match 2: 26-29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy

Match 3: 3-6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley

Cricket West Indies announced the squad recently in lieu of agreements with the England and Wales Cricket Board about a tour that was scheduled for June but has now been postponed amid plans to make it safe despite the worldwide spread of COVID-19.

The squad had seen the return of pacer Shannon Gabriel, spinner Veerasammy Permaul and middle-order batsman Jermaine Blackwood.

There were also some new faces to the squad like Preston McSween, Paul Palmer, Shane Mosely and Keon Harding.

Powell, who last represented the West Indies on the 2018 tour of Bangladesh, was a notable absentee.

Since Powell’s exclusion from the West Indies set-up, he has scored fairly heavily in regional cricket, a fact that has elicited surprise at his non-selection.

“I haven’t really been as productive as I would like in the four-day format but I still managed to stand out above everyone else who played in the tournament so it’s disheartening for myself to learn that I hadn’t been selected based on the volume of runs I scored,” said Powell.

Despite leading the Caribbean in the Regional Super50 competition with 524 runs last year, Powell was not selected for series against India, Ireland and Sri Lanka.

There had been reports that Powell should have been a replacement for Evin Lewis in the Sri Lanka series. Lewis had failed a fitness test but the reports are suggesting Powell also failed that test.

“I don’t mind not being selected. This is part and parcel of being in West Indies cricket. It has been here long before me and I’m pretty sure it will be long after but communication is the most important thing,” Powell said regarding the failure of the fitness test.

According to Powell, he is yet to hear from CWI what aspects of the test he failed and what he needed to work on.

“Obviously there are more factors to it, which is what I am trying to ascertain. What are those standards, so I can work on whatever I need to work on so I can get my international career back off the ground?” he said.

While not calling names or suggesting this administration inclusive of coaches and board has anything more than the best interest of cricket at heart, Powell did point out that there was a certain stigma that has made his sojourn in West Indies cricket more difficult.

“I remember a coach of the West Indies team telling me that I don’t need to play for the West Indies team because I was financially good and that I should leave it for people who aren’t financially good and I didn’t understand,” said Powell.

According to the elegant left-hander, his finances should not be used to count against him playing for the region.

“No one would look at a LeBron James or a Cristiano Ronaldo, and so many others, that based on all the investments they have that they don’t need to play anymore. Obviously, we know the history of athletes going bankrupt,” he said.

Chief of selectors, Roger Harper, asked about the exclusion of Kieron Pollard, said the issue was one based completely on cricket and that there was no personal feeling toward Powell one way or the other.

“I don’t know of any problem with Powell. When we picked our squad, we picked what we thought was the best squad for those conditions,” said Harper.

The West Indies tour of England will see them fight to retain the Wisden Trophy they took from England last year.

In a letter dated October 5 and signed by Dr Shallow, it was alleged that Riley, a seasoned cricket administrator, exhibited recent deeply unsatisfactory conduct in his roles as a director of CWI and chairman of a CWI Committee.

While CWI did not take any action against Riley, it cautioned him of the possibility of future repercussions if his behavior was not addressed.

However, in the absence of a CWI Ethics Committee, Astaphan, a prominent legal figure in the Caribbean, believes that it is challenging to definitively determine the situation between Riley and Dr Shallow.

He contends that it raises more questions than answers regarding Dr Shallow’s legal authority to reprimand Riley without due process.

“I think some questions need to be asked and some questions need to be answered. For example, was there a board of director’s decision in relation to the letter that the chairman or the president sent to Mr. Riley authorizing it?” Astaphan asked while appearing on the popular Mason and Guest radio programme on Tuesday night.

Astaphan cited several similar instances, including the removal of attorney-at-Law, Calvin Hope, as BCA’s director on the CWI Board last year during Ricky Skerritt’s tenure as the head of the regional cricket body.

“The director, who at the time faced the prospect of an ethics complaint made by the then president (Skerritt), is that the rules seem to require a complaint to be made to the Ethics Committee first and for the director against whom the complaint is made to be given the opportunity to be heard before an independent and impartial board, which is the Ethics Committee,” Astaphan pointed out.

Astaphan, who served as CWI’s advisor on recommendations for the CARICOM final report on cricket governance in 2015, suggested that the absence of an Ethics Committee raises serious procedural questions about whether there was due process, or if the letter was the result of an impartial and independent action.

“Putting all of that aside, whether or not Mr. Riley was given the opportunity to be heard by the chairman, I think that’s an empty question because I do not think the chairman has the authority to act on his own in these matters. I mentioned earlier that I think the only decision the board could have made or could make was to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee so it could be dealt with in accordance with due process, without impartiality and the possibility at least of the appearance of bias,” the attorney-at-law added.

Astaphan stressed that those issues need to be addressed to ascertain whether there were procedural irregularities, an abuse of authority, or the potential for bias in the Dr Shallow’s letter, particularly if Riley was not granted the opportunity to present his side.

The conflict between Riley and Dr. Shallow became public during their appearance on the Mason & Guest radio show where they clashed over the hosting of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final.

At the time Dr Shallow criticized Riley for his alleged inaccurate public statement concerning a letter from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to the BCA, claiming that Kensington Oval had been awarded the final.

Young was a member of the West Indies Rising Stars squad at the 2020 ICC U19 World Cup and has also played for Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Carty, meanwhile, has been a consistent member of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes squad for the last five years. He was Player of the Match in the final of the 2016 ICC U19 World Cup won by the West Indies.

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons outlined that the camp will focus on improving skill sets as the West Indies look ahead to two major global events over the next two years – the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year and the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India.

“The camp will be a chance for us to do some work with players in the white-ball formats, players who might have a chance to play in the coming white-ball teams later this year,” Simmons said.

“The most important thing is that we will be doing things in the camp that we have not been doing well, such as rotating strike, sweeping, and playing spin better. It’s about working on things that we’re not 100 per cent at yet. We have several players at IPL who will be working at their games as well, so we’re working with the players here to make sure they keep up the standard and improve.”

Simmons also weighed in on the selection of Carty and Young for the camp.

Keacy Carty was a reserve for the team which toured India in February. If there was any reason why players couldn’t go, he was the next batsman in line. He is one of the players we have looked at before,” Simmons revealed.

“Nyeem Young is one of the potentially good young all-rounders we have around the Caribbean, so we just want to bring them in and get them to understand what we expect of them if they get to that level.”

In late May, the West Indies travel to The Netherlands for the first-ever three-match One Day International Series between the two teams, to be followed by the rescheduled three-match ODI Series against Pakistan which was postponed in December.

These fixtures form part of the ICC ODI Super League, where teams will have the opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

West Indies will then be hosting tours by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand with all three series featuring white-ball matches. Details of these tours will be announced in the coming weeks.

Players for white-ball camp: Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kjorn Ottley, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Devon Thomas and Nyeem Young.

 “I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup," said Pooran. "I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year.

“The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.”

The Trinidadian middle-order batsman said relinquishing the captaincy is not an indicator that he was throwing in the towel.

 “This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role," he said.

"By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player. I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times.

“I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and faith shown in me and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams thanked Pooran for his time leading the two teams.

“On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future,” Adams said.

Last year and earlier this year, Pooran led the West Indies in the absence of Kieron Pollard, enjoying a T20 International (T20I) Series win against Australia at home (4-1). He was officially appointed West Indies Men’s white ball captain in May this year when Pollard stepped down. Overall, Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is, recording Series wins against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).

The West Indies Men’s next white ball series is against South Africa in March 2023 (directly after the two Test Match Series) and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.

This, according to Skerritt, doesn’t mean there will be no changes because a technical committee had been vetting retainer contracts in lieu of them coming to an end in a few months.

“There has been no move in that direction at this time. We are actually in the process right now, that is the technical team is in the process of reviewing retainer contracts [because] the retainer contracts come to an end within the next couple of months. So, it is being looked at as normal, but I expect that we will have to do a bit of a check on where we are and what we can afford to do going forward,” he said in an interview with the Good Morning JoJo Sports Show in Antigua.

Skerritt’s comments do not mean that the CWI is in great financial standing despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on sport worldwide, and in fact, the president has pointed to other areas where there might be an impact in short order.

“CWI is facing a rapidly changing world environment for sports and with no sports taking place, with revenues related to broadcast rights and sponsorship and so on, gate receipts, all of those revenues are important, so every sporting organisation around the world is facing issues. Those that were already facing cash flow issues or other organizational issues will just have it tougher and CWI is one of those,” said Skerritt.

English male cricketers have collectively donated £500,000, the women have agreed pay cuts for the next three months to help the English Cricket Board deal with the fallout from a lack of play, while the NBA is proposing a 50 per cent pay cut while games are suspended.

Speaking on Antigua Observer Radio show, ‘Good Morning Jojo’, Skerritt said he had not responded positively or negatively to a letter from Cameron because it did not seek a response.

“[…] we received a letter from my predecessor which, in effect, he said the letter speaks for itself and he said, looking forward to your support. Nowhere did the letter ask for anything,” said Skerritt.

Skerritt was referring to claims from Cameron that he sent a letter requesting that the CWI support him in his bid for chairman of the ICC, in effect offering him as a candidate the organization nominates.

“The letter was simply saying about all the things that he said I knew about, and in other words, I knew all these things he is going to do so therefore he is looking forward to my support,” said Skerritt.

“He, in effect, was assuming that because Cricket West Indies knew the issues, that he could look forward to our support; and I suppose he feels like that is an automatic support and so the letter came across as look, I expect you to support me. I know he has the right to think that, but however, he has gone on to tell people and I am not sure where he got it from, that I have said I am supporting the [former] chairman [Colin Graves] of the ECB [England & Wales Cricket Board],” he said.

Skerritt, in response to comments that the CWI would be offering its support elsewhere, said no such decision has come because nobody has announced they were yet running for the ICC’s top post.

“Nobody, including the chairman of ECB, to the best of my knowledge, has announced that he is going to be running for the ICC chairmanship,” said Skerritt.

Despite Skerritt’s claims, United States Cricket has written to the ICC, indicating their willingness to nominate Cameron for the top post. Cameron will need two nominations if he is to be part of the process of electing a new ICC Chairman.

Both peaceful and violent protests have rocked the United States for the last eight days as many across the nation continue to remonstrate about the circumstances that led to the death of George Floyd an unarmed African American man.

Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis cop, was filmed with his knee on the neck of the restrained and pleading Floyd who later went unconscious and was reported dead at the hospital.  Several athletes, including West Indies cricket stars Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle, have joined those voices demanding justice and the organisation threw their support behind the pair and the movement.

   “We join our cricketers, other cricket stakeholders, and all sportsmen, sportswomen, and sports administrators in speaking out against all forms of racism and inequality.  We stand alongside all who are peacefully protesting and championing this cause,” the release read.

The West Indies, like the United States, has deep-rooted connections to slavery and colonialism.  A part of the success of early West Indies cricket teams, who became the sport’s dominant force, was built on the fierce desire to prove themselves equal to colonizing powers and those who thought of themselves as racially superior.

“The people of the West Indies have fought many battles of our own on and off the field.  We have been blessed to witness the prowess, determination, and leadership of our cricketing heroes who united the Caribbean and brought great success and pride to our people,” the release continued.

“Our cricketing heroes helped in large measure to pave the way for cricket and our West Indian societies to thrive at home, and generated enjoyment and dignity for the West Indian diaspora abroad while they faced their own experiences of inequality and injustice in their adopted home.”

Rovman Powell has responded with grace and gratitude after being replaced as captain of the West Indies T20 International team, following a Cricket West Indies (CWI) announcement on Monday naming Shai Hope as the new leader heading into the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.

Republic Bank has announced the continuation of its partnership with Cricket West Indies (CWI) for the RBL “Five for Fun” Cricket programme in primary schools across Grenada, marking the second consecutive year of this exciting grassroots cricket initiative.

Beaton’s bowling action was assessed by officials at Loughborough University in England, where it was found to be within acceptable limits.

The assessment was required after Beaton’s action was reported back in March by match officials during the West Indies Championship fourth round match between Guyana Harpy Eagles and Jamaica Scorpions at the Guyana National Stadium.

Following this, an assessment was conducted which found his bowling action to be illegal by officials at Loughborough University.

In line with CWI’s approved process for dealing with illegal bowling actions, Beaton underwent remedial work to remodel his action and video footage was sent to Loughborough University for analysis using an Opinion Report which was conducted earlier this month. The fast bowler has subsequently been cleared to resume bowling.

The 35-year-old all-rounder has played for KKR since 2014, when he helped them win the IPL title.

Since that time, Russell, who last played for the West Indies during the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021, has declined several opportunities to represent the regional team often citing health issues relating to long-term knee injuries.

During a recent interview on Star Sports in India, Russell said KKR makes him feel special for everything that Kolkata-based franchise did for him to get treatment done on his knees.

"Where I was, a few years ago, KKR actually make things happen for me where they send me to get proper treatments on my knees,” Russell said.

“That's something special to me to be honest. No other franchise or even my country never really invest that much on me."

Russell added that he feels at home at KKR.

"I'm happy here. I don't see any other franchise I would love to be a part of in this tournament because I've been here for about nine years now. Been here for so many years, I meet these guys, get closer to them every year," he said.

The 37-year-old Sammy led the regional team to the T20 World title in 2012 and 2016, memorably criticising the then administration after claiming the latter title.

Earlier this year, Sammy stepped aside from Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team St Lucia Zouks, moving behind the scenes to become a T20 cricket consultant and brand ambassador.  He is also the current head coach of Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Peshawar Zalmi.

According to Cricket West Indies (CWI), it is hoped the appointment of the former captain will provide a fresh and youthful perspective to some of the challenges faced by the board.

“I am delighted to welcome Daren Sammy as an independent, non-member Director whose role will be to ensure that all the right questions are being asked while contributing to the shaping of new ideas and solutions. Daren’s fairly recent experience as a two-time World Cup-winning captain will bring with him a much-needed modern-day cricketer’s perspective, which should add valuable insights to Board discussions and decision-making. His appointment is testament to our commitment to strengthen CWI’s governance, and to utilize expertise from across all stakeholder groups,” CWI president Ricky Skerritt said.

For his part, Sammy expressed delight with the opportunity to continue playing an active role in West Indies cricket.

“It is an honour to be appointed as a CWI Director; this is another great opportunity for me to give my best to West Indies cricket in a new way, off the field. All my local, regional, and international experiences have prepared me to make a significant ongoing impact in West Indies cricket. I am excited and thankful for the chance to serve and look forward to giving back to the sport and region that I love so much,” Sammy said.

Sammy is one of three appointed Independent Directors approved at last Thursday’s CWI Board of Directors’ meeting.  The appointees will serve for the next two years. He joins Trinidadian Attorney Mrs. Debra Coryat-Patton and Jamaican Surgeon and University Administrator, Dr. Akshai Mansingh, who were both re-appointed to serve a second term.

On Monday, the GCB elected Guyana businessman Bissoondyal Singh to the post of president of the association, with Rabindranauth Saywack and Hilbert Foster set to serve as vice-presidents and Ronald Williams named secretary.

Sanasie is part of a two-man slate set to challenge incumbent vice CWI president Ricky Skerritt, with Barbados’ Calvin Hope set to challenge Shallow for the vice-presidency.  Following the election, however, Sanasie would no longer be a member of the board, and as such speculation arose regarding the future of the challenge.  Shallow, however, expects Sanasie to be on the slate when the election takes place on April 11.

“Independent persons can be nominated for the post of president and vice-president, so he is not automatically disqualified,” Shallow explained.

“You don’t have to be a voting member or a shareholder to be eligible to be a candidate and that means both his and the nomination of his running mate would stand at this point,” he added.

The CWI elections were scheduled to be held last weekend but was postponed after a quorum could not be reached, following the absence of representatives from Guyana and Barbados.

Doubts had been raised regarding the viability of the former secretary of the GCB’s candidacy, following the election of a new executive on Monday.  Losing his position on the CWI board would not necessarily have meant the end of Sanasie’s candidacy but serious doubts were raised regarding the ability to garner support from his home country.  Sanasie's running mate, Calivn Hope of Barbados, also announced his withdrawal.

The deposed official, however, continues to question the legitimacy of the election that he claims were influenced by partisan actions on the part of the Guyana sports minister.

“Unjust, irregular, imprudent and hasty actions taken by the partisan and compromised Minister of Sport in Guyana, Mr. Charles Ramson Jr, have led to dubious GCB elections being held and a new group purporting to be the new executive installed. I am advised by my legal team that these elections cannot withstand judicial scrutiny which may arise and which have every possibility of prevailing. It should also be noted that the court-ordered Demerara Cricket Board election is very likely to be set aside,” Sanasie stated in the press realease.

He went on to claim that the meetings with the sports minister were held without the then nominated GCB directors despite their objections.  Sanasie also claimed that there was attempted impropriety at last week’s CWI annual general meeting, which was to feature the leadership election.

“…there was an attempt to hold an Annual General Meeting and Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections without critical requirements outlined by the Articles of Association being complied with. This attempt, until it was thwarted at the last minute, remains cause for serious concern by those who have an interest in good governance of CWI. A major scandal was averted by the judicious and prudent actions of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Guyana Cricket Board to save CWI global embarrassment and ridicule.”

He, however, also extended congratulations to incumbent president Ricky Skerritt who will head into next weekend’s elections unopposed.

“Consequently, I take this opportunity to extend congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Ricky Skerritt since he will be uncontested. I urge that more deliberate efforts be made to strengthen the finances of CWI and to improve in the areas of prudent fiscal management, accountability and transparency. I also urge that greater respect be accorded to Territorial Boards and that there is considerably more inclusivity in executive decision making and corporate governance.”

According to Sarwan, Skerritt has had to make ‘hard decisions’ and he has made them.

Skerritt’s tenure as CWI president has been under scrutiny because of the stunning manner in which he ousted three-term incumbent Dave Cameron in March of 2019. “He has been doing a good job and has had to make hard decisions, and it’s good to see when you have to make harsh decisions, you make them in the right way,” said Sarwan in an interview with Kaieteur News.

According to Sarwan, Skerritt’s tenure so far has not been without its challenges but those were to be expected given the state of the CWI when he took the reins.

“When he came in it was a difficult time, not only the financial challenges they had to deal with but, so far, you got to give him the props where someone deserves props,” he said.

Sarwan, who played 87 Tests, 181 ODIs and 18 T20Is for the West Indies between 2000 and 2013, was one of the former players asked by the Skerritt administration to act as consultant to the West Indies ahead of their tour to Ireland last May.

The batsman averaged 40.01 and 42.67 in Tests and ODI’s respectively, scoring 15 centuries in the longest format of the game and five in the 50-over version.

The former Guyanese middle order batsman was appointed a selector for the West Indies Men’s Youth and Selection Panels on January 6, 2022. CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams thanked Sarwan for his contributions during the short time he served in the role.

“Given the depth of his experience in the game, we are disappointed that Ramnaresh is unable to continue in the role of a selector, but we fully understand and accept his reasons,” Adams said.

“We are grateful for his contribution during the period he was involved and hope that he will be able to contribute to West Indies Cricket in some capacity in the future.”

Resulting from the resignation, CWI will initiate a recruitment process as soon as possible through a competitive process, based on established criteria.

The aim, CWI said, will be to complete this process in the shortest possible time so that a suitable candidate can complete the selection panel in carrying out its duties. Robert Haynes, who is the current Lead Selector of the Men’s Youth Selection Panel and former interim Chairman of Selectors, will act as Sarwan’s replacement until a suitable full-time candidate is appointed.

Haynes will work alongside Senior Men’s Team Lead Selector the Most Honorable Dr Desmond Haynes and Head Coach Phil Simmons.

The West Indies Men’s team is currently touring the Netherlands for the first-ever ODI Series between the Netherlands and West Indies as part of the ICC ODI Super League.

The flight was rescheduled at the request of the player, who cited family reasons.

According to CWI, with flight availability a real challenge, a seat was found for him to leave Guyana today, Monday, October 3, meaning he would miss the first T20 International (T20I) against Australia on Wednesday, October 5 at the Metricon Stadium.

“This morning, Mr Hetmyer, informed the Director of Cricket that he would not be able to get to the airport in time for his flight this afternoon to New York,” CWI said.

“This afternoon we informed the CWI Board of Directors that the Selection Panel had unanimously decided to replace Shimron Hetmyer with Shamarh Brooks in our T20 World Cup squad,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“​ Whilst we changed Shimron’s flight from Saturday to Monday due to family reasons, it was made clear to him that if there were any further delays and issues with his travel to Australia then we would have no choice but to replace him in the squad, as we are not prepared to compromise the team’s ability to prepare for this extremely important global event.

“Shamarh has been a part of our recent T20 International squads and delivered strong performances in the latter stages of the recently concluded CPL. ​ He will fly out as soon as possible this week to Australia and I wish him and all the squad all the very best for the tournament.”

Brooks has been in good form scoring an unbeaten 109 from 52 balls against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the semi-final of the 2022 Hero CPL. He scored 47 from 33 in the finals to help the Jamaica Tallawahs win their third title and their first since 2016 on Friday, September 30.

The squad will now be: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell (Vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith