WICB Denies the Australians

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has turned down a request by its Australian counterparts to move or cancel the President's XI game scheduled for Georgetown, Guyana because of the escalating crime situation there.

WICB sources tell CaribbeanCricket.com the game will proceed as scheduled, despite a strong lobby from the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) to have the game scrapped or moved to another location.

The ACB, citing a strongly worded travel advisory from its Foreign Ministry, was willing to go ahead with the Test match which starts on April 10 but asked the WICB to limit its stay in Guyana because of the violent crime wave.

"The security situation in Guyana remains tense and unpredictable. Armed robberies, indiscriminate shootings, car jackings and kidnappings in the capital, Georgetown, have resulted in a number of deaths," the advisory said.

But, the WICB turned down the request and sources say the board will offer a "guarantee" of player safety while the visitors are in Guyana. The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has been in touch with the Home Affairs Ministry and the Guyana army could be used to provide round-the-clock security.