The Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) have agreed to use the upcoming Cricket West Indies (CWI) Special Meeting as a platform to voice their concerns, as they confirmed that representatives will be in attendance at Sunday’s gathering in Antigua.

The two associations, which had previously boycotted the December 6 meeting, announced in a joint press release that they would exercise their right to vote and make submissions at the February 9 discussion on proposed amendments to CWI’s Articles of Association.

“The Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) have agreed to attend the meeting of February 9, 2025, set by CWI to discuss the proposed resolutions to amend the Articles of Association despite their disappointment in the way in which the matter has been handled by CWI,” the statement read.

While confirming their attendance, BCA and GCB maintained that previous concerns raised at earlier meetings had been overlooked. They also took issue with how those concerns were handled, citing conflicts of interest within CWI's governance structure.

“The BCA and GCB have continuously added their voices to governance reform and at the last AGM tabled suggestions aimed at moving the matter forward. We asked for further dialogue but, instead, our concerns were referred to the Integrity & Dispute Resolution Committee. The committee, chaired by a CWI Director, rejected our position,” they revealed.

The two associations questioned the legitimacy of the committee’s decision, as they stressed that no internal committee should have the authority to override a shareholder representative’s request.

“It must be pointed out that no committee has the authority to overrule a request of a representative of the shareholders, and furthermore, any Ethics, Integrity, or Disputes Committee should be independent and should not be chaired by a sitting CWI Director,” the statement noted.

In response to claims that they opposed governance reform, the BCA and GCB firmly refuted the suggestion, stating they had supported the majority of past resolutions—including some that have now come into question.

“The narrative has also been sent that BCA and GCB are against governance reform. This is entirely misleading. We have voted in favour of most resolutions, inclusive of some that are now revealing to be questionable,” the statement asserted.

That said, the BCA and GCB pointed out that they have expressed their concerns to the CARICOM Secretary General and proposed a way forward regarding the amendment that seeks to extend the tenure of the CWI president and vice-president.

“In light of no dialogue, BCA and GCB have written the CARICOM Secretary General setting out our concerns and proposed way forward as it relates to the items being tabled surrounding amendment of the section changing the tenure in office of the president and vice-president from two years to three years with term limits of three consecutive terms,” the statement said.

“It is hoped that this matter will be elevated at the next CARICOM Heads of Government meeting scheduled to take place February 19-21, 2025, in Barbados,” it ended.