HEAD of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Bissoondial Singh yesterday held a press briefing, wherein he responded to the ‘No Confidence’ motion against the executives of the DCB, which is set to be heard at the upcoming DCB Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) next Friday.

The motion was signed by two area board presidents in Rohan Sarjoo and Alfred Mentore of the East Bank Cricket Association (EBCA) and the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) respectively and supported by Anand Sanasie president of the West Demerara Cricket Association (WCDA).

“First of all, the signatories to the motion claim we have done very little to promote the aims and objectives of the DCB according to Article 3 (1), (2), (3), and (4) of the DCB’s Constitution, while in retrospect, we have managed to get sponsorship for every single competition from the Under-15 to Under-19 level this year and we even received a commitment from the said sponsors for next year’s tournament in the same age groups.

“Apart from that, there were many firsts created by the present executives of the DCB in terms of the game of cricket, wherein for the first time in the history of the DCB’s second division competition, a sponsored competition was finished in the same year it started, with the teams who contested the final, doing so with coloured t-shirts, black sightscreen and under lights,” said Singh.

The latter was in reference to the just concluded DCB/Hand-in-Hand-sponsored second division limited overs tournament in which Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) defeated defending champions Lusignan Sports Club (LSC) in the final at the LSC ground last Friday night.

Singh, who held the press briefing at his King Street business location, further stated that even though the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) of which he is a vice-president, has been unable to secure a sponsorship for its Under-17 Inter-county competition, the DCB still managed to send a team to the Ancient County of Berbice, where they defeated the host team.

Another first which was created by the DCB under Singh’s stewardship would have been the organising and completion of a female mini league which led to the selection of the successful Demerara Women’s Inter-county team.

When quizzed on the failure to commence the important G$1.5M sponsored three-day first division competition as cited in the motion, Singh said, “Yes we did receive the stipulated sum of G$1.5M towards the sponsorship of our three-day first division competition from New Line Aqua Farm, but we were unable to commence that competition, as there were several other tournaments along with the WICB regional Women’s tournament being played, making the availability of venues a serious thing.

He continued: “The sponsors then asked us to refund the abovementioned sum citing the GCB’s sponsorship of a three-day tournament as one of their reasons.”

The 41-year-old Singh who commenced his second tenure as head of the DCB in January of this year, gleefully informed Chronicle Sport about a meeting that took place between the DCB and GCA, where the way forward for cricket in Demerara was the key topic.

“Earlier this year, both the DCB and the GCA met and held successful discussions with regard to moving cricket in the County of Demerara forward, wherein former national middle order batsman Neil Barry who is a vice-president of the GCA, recommended an Inter-ward competition be used to supplement the DCB’s Inter-Association tournament.

“It was a well-received recommendation and I committed the DCB towards moving in the organising of that competition, with the GCA’s president who is the DCB’s Cricket Development Committee chairman Alfred Mentore, being tasked with identifying the various wards, something he did successfully.

A sponsor was identified for the Inter-ward, with over G$1M being committed towards the running-off of same, but once again the number of ongoing competitions have prevented the commencement of same but come 2010, it has been placed on our priority list,” said Singh.

According to Singh, the present executives of the DCB have never waned when it comes to the aims and objectives of the DCB as specified in Article 5 (1) of the constitution, where they are mandated to promote the aims and objectives of the board.

“Already, a sponsor has been identified and gave his commitment towards the sponsorship of a DCB Inter-association limited overs first division competition, which we will be using as a yardstick to select our Inter-county team to compete in GCB/El Dorado Inter-county tournament.

Whilst the chairman of the DCB’s Fund Raising Committee (FRC) Anand Sanasie has never held a meeting with the members of the FRC with regard to the way forward in terms of raising funds for the DCB, we have still managed to garner funds through sponsorship and the GCB’s subvention” said Singh.

Moore, Browne and Garner
With regard to executives of the DCB doubling up in the role of manager, coach or selector, Singh used GCB’s Competitions Committee chairman Carl Moore along with Barbados’ Courtney Browne and Joel Garner who are executives on their boards as examples of executives who are serving as managers for teams.

It is not in the DCB’s constitution that an executive should not serve in that position, nor did anyone brought it to the attention of a DCB Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) for it to be deemed a policy position.

When asked about the financial status of the DCB, Singh who had sought clarification from his treasurer Prittipaul Jaigobin informed that the DCB has $565 193 to its name, having started the year with $388 795, but most importantly, is not indebted to anyone at the moment.

Singh believes that the motion has nothing to do with the administration of cricket in Demerara, but the preservation of some executives of the GCB at all cost and intends to engage both Sarjoo and Mentore who are former national players to discuss in detail their concerns with regards to the administration of cricket in Demerara.