MINISTER of Sport Dr Frank Anthony said that he’s optimistic of a fruitful relationship with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) following a meeting between the two parties on Tuesday. Following the passage of the Cricket Administration Bill, WICB said that they had serious reservations to the bill which they believe would have thrust the administration of cricket in Guyana from an independent body to the Government of Guyana, claiming also it was undesirable and inconsistent with International Cricket Council tenets.

The WICB later relocated the planned third Test between West Indies and New Zealand from the Guyana National Stadium which sparked a countrywide outcry but nonetheless, the Dave Cameron-led administration said that they were still open to talks with the Government of Guyana in making amendments to the Cricket Bill.
On Tuesday, a high-ranking team from the WICB met with the Government where the parties ironed out whatever issues they both had with cricket in Guyana and more so, coming up with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
Speaking to reporters at his Main Street Office yesterday, Minister Anthony called the meeting “very fruitful” and, stated that he believes “some of the misconceptions that people might have had, we were able to discuss and clarify those issues.”
“At the end of it, we’re working on developing an agreement and right now the legal people are going to put that agreement in place once we have the text of that agreement and we can agree on the text, I think we’ll be able to move forward.”
“I think their issues and maybe misunderstanding that stems from the bill we were able to provide clarification on them, so for us it was really giving people the explanation that they required, so that’s why we are going to capture that in the agreement now, so that everybody would be comfortable,” Minister Anthony said.
Asked if the meeting would see an end to the standoff between Government and the WICB, Anthony noted, “Let us wait on the final agreement and once we have that signed, I would be very clear and specific how we move forward.”
Minister Anthony further pointed out, “What we have to look at is more of a long-term relationship as we move forward because the main objective here is the long-term development of cricket in Guyana. We of course, regret the actions taken by the WICB and for us it’s something that’s unwarranted because the bill doesn’t have anything to do with hosting of matches here”.
He added: “When the WICB would have a match in Guyana, they would work with their agent, so that’s something strictly with the WICB and their local agents; it has nothing to do with the government of Guyana. As far as we were concerned, they were no barriers in place that would’ve prevented those matches.”
“The Minister is of the view that following the meeting all stakeholders are “trying to work in the best interest of cricket and once this agreement is in place, we would be able to elucidate the way forward”.