T&T PM: Cricket hijacked

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley.
Government Information Services Limited

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley says West Indies cricket has been “hijacked” by people who are going to destroy the product and the game.

He was at the time speaking during an interview on an early morning television show. He said the current structure and organization of the game by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and their new incarnation the West Indies Cricket Board Incorporated cannot work.

Rowley claimed that Caribbean cricket has been “hijacked” by a small clique who are bent on destroying Caribbean cricket and “it is my position that unless the question is answered as to who owns that asset (Caribbean Cricket), we are spinning top in mud.”

The prime minister said the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Australia Cricket Board had resolved that issue in their countries and arrangements were put in place that led to the rebuilding of their teams under the new arrangements.

In December 2015, Rowley and the then head of CARICOM’s sub-commitee on cricket, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell met with representatives of the WICB, including President Dave Cameron where the WICB initially agreed that there were governance issues that needed to be addressed and was open to restructuring.

However, Cameron and the WICB changed their stance following the recommendations of a report from an independent committee.