WICB Disbands Cricket Committee

Tue, Jun 29, '04

It's the end of the cricket committee as we know it. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has disbanded the all-important Cricket Committee (Playing & Development) in favour of two separate units under direct control of the territorial boards.

After a recent round of meetings in Georgetown, Guyana, the WICB decided to revert to the old system of two separate committees -- Playing Committee and Development Committee -- under direct supervision of the regional directors.

The development committee will be made up of chairpersons of all the different WICB committees and will take control of the board's operational issues. It effectively means that some WICB directors -- including Guyana's Chetty Singh, Trinidad's Ellis Lewis and Leeward Islands' Carlisle Powell -- will now take over the decision-making on cricket development.

A brand-new committee, to be chaired by David Holford (replacing the incumbent Michael Findlay), will deal with playing matters. Membership of this committee will be chosen from nominees submitted by territorial boards, again putting control in the hands of the regional directors.

The CCP&D, which was made up mostly of former Test cricketers, had become a thorn in the side of the WICB's directors. Over the years, some vocal members of the committee have been critical of the board for ignoring most of their recommendations.

Under the new structure, those outspoken members like Andy Roberts, Viv Richards, Bryan Davis, and Sir Everton Weeks will have to be nominated by a regional board if they are to be retained on the committee.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Also read, Cricket Committee (Playing & Development) minutes:

[ Part One] [ Part Two] [ Part Three]