By Daniel Haynes

DIRECTOR of Sport Christopher Jones has issued a formal apology on behalf of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Government of Guyana for Wednesday’s non-attendance to welcome home the female West Indian cricketers.Tremayne Smartt and Shemaine Campbelle were part of the successful West Indies Women T20 championship squad but were not treated to the lush ceremonies like their regional counterparts upon their return home.

The duo arrived at the Ogle International Airport on Wednesday to a welcome party of only two Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) officials, prompting harsh comments on social media.
And Jones at a press conference on Thursday apologised for the lacklustre way in which the women were welcomed home by both the NSC and the Government but placed the blame solely at the feet of the GCB.
He said, “The GCB who is the authority as it relates to cricket whether Women, Men, Under-19, Under-17 would have been recipients of the itinerary of the two players just as they would have been for the others, to which they invited government representatives of the office of the Director of Sport and others before.”
He continued, “For reasons best known to the GCB, they withheld the information re the arrival of the two female cricketers from the government and the people of Guyana.”
He made reference to online news site, Sannsports.com, which confirmed in an interview with a GCB official that the Board did not invite the Guyana Government to welcome home the women.
“Personnel from the GCB confirmed that the relevant sports dignitaries were not informed of the players’ arrival,” the Sport Director told the news conference.
Nonetheless, all blames aside, the NSC plans to honour the two female champions alongside the U-19 players at a luncheon today and Jones let slip that the two women will be specially honoured.
The luncheon, initially set Wednesday, was postponed due to logistical constraints and according to Jones, this setback has allowed them to correct the glaring errors of the GCB.
“We, the National Sports Commission, will continue to work along-side the GCB regardless of what happens. It is my hope that in future a better partnership will be fostered between the GCB and NSC,” Jones said.
Meanwhile a call to the GCB’s Assistant Administrator, Melinda Bishundyal-Chaitram for a comment on the NSC’s claims was met with a ‘no comment’ response.