… Sanasie extends olive branch to BCB

WHEN the governing body for cricket in the Caribbean, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) was holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections of office-bearers in March 2013, secretary of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Angela Haniff filed an injunction in the High Court.

According to Haniff, the executive body of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) was illegal as its (GCB) AGM and Elections of Office-Bearers, held in January 2013, was not constitutional, hence the two appointed directors to the WICB should not be allowed to vote.
Yesterday, after one year and four months of several trips to Court, the Drubahadur-steward GCB won the battle with Madam Justice Roxane George and Justice James Bovell-Drakes ruling in their favour.
According to reports reaching Chronicle Sport from a legal mind, Madam Justice George and Justice Bovell-Drakes made several rulings in favour of the GCB yesterday morning, before declaring that the injunction filed by Haniff was wrong.
“The two judges ruled that Madam Justice Sandra Kurtzious was wrong and did not properly assess the principles relevant to the granting of the injunction against the GCB and they also said that when an injunction is finished, the plaintiff needs to apply to the Full Court for the granting of the ex-parte injunction that was refused or apply inter-parte by summons for the injunction that was refused.
The two judges also said that Haniff did not show in her application that she had resources or assets to make good any loss the GCB would have suffered due to the injunction being in place.”
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport yesterday afternoon, secretary of the GCB Anand Sanasie was exuberant at chalking up another Court victory on behalf of his fellow executives and himself and said the GCB was open to discussions and reconciliatory talks with the BCB to solve issues.
“Yes, the injunction was discharged and damages granted to the GCB and we are happy because this is the third time the BCB has taken the GCB to Court and lost and I hope this finally stops and we can get on with the business of administering cricket in Guyana.
:That being said, I wish to state that the GCB is open to discussions and reconciliatory talks and suggestions with the BCB to solve issues and while we have chalked up another victory in the courtroom, we would rather have those victories on the field of play.”
He added, “We are prepared to welcome the BCB on board with the GCB, as the GCB is made up of the three county boards in Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice and I am extending on behalf of the president and other executive members of the GCB, an invitation to the president and executives of the BCB to come on board with us and let’s put Guyana’s cricket first.”
Haniff’s action had also listed as its plaintiffs, BCB president Keith Foster, vice-presidents Anil Beharry, Hubern Evans and Julian Cambridge, Angela Haniff, Raymond Haniff, Romesh Munna and Shabeer Baksh, while the defendants were the entire executive body of the GCB including its long-serving administrator Savitri Persaud.
Just last week Thursday, Sanasie, Drubahadur and Marketing Manager of the GCB Raj Singh were at the Albion Community Centre ground, where 11 first division clubs in the Ancient County were the recipients of a practice net and $100 000 – an exercise that is to be repeated in Linden and Essequibo.

(By Calvin Roberts)