By Elroy Stephney
FORMER president of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB),Prince Holder claims that the Board is dyfunctional and as a result it should be restructured. Holder briefly served as the ECB head following the sudden resignation of Sheik Ahmad in 2013.He is currently the Chairman of the North Essequibo Cricket Committee (NECC) which is one of eight area committees comprising the ECB.

Given the geographical nature of the existing committees, the task has been quite herculean to financially sustain their vibrancy,including the hosting of regular competitions.
According to Holder, the county has been without a major sponsor for the past three years which has severely affected the upliftment of the game in the Region.
He alluded to previous and continuous sponsorship such as the Good Wood under-19 as well as senior inter-committee competitions which were quite beneficial for players who were eventually selected for inter-county tournaments.

Holder further mentioned that senior players were also engaged in additional limited overs and three day inter-county cricket that were either sponsored by corporate entities,including Kayman Sankar or the Board.
In contrast, he says that the current Administration is unable to attract sponsorship because of incompetence, neglect and lack of commitment to advance impacting initiatives and ideas.

Holder is also of the view that the Board seldom meets while the sub-committees,including that of sponsorship, finance and cricket development have been diluted into irrelevance.
The former ECB president also alluded to the ECB Hostel which is underutilised and remains in a state of disrepair. According to Holder,”The Administrator is being paid for non-performance since he does not occupy the office at the Hostel nor is he present in the various area committees to conduct cricket related activities.”

This he said is unacceptable and must be investigated by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). He is also questioning the logic of the ECB to support an increasingly dictatorial GCB which he claimed has not been holding elections as mandated by its constitution.
“Why has the ECB abondoned the interest of its most celebrated cricketer,Ransford Beaton,who has been denied a retainer contract by the GCB and who continues to be sidelined by the very Board that the ECB is aligned with?he questioned.Given such inexcusable dilemmas, Holder is strongly in favour of the restructuring of the Essequibo Cricket Board.

He is further suggesting that the entire Board should resign en-block and be replaced by an Interim Management Committee (IMC) until such time that elections can be held since the term of the current Board has ended.
Holder also supports the establishment of a group of former top local cricketers who will advise the IMC on ways to improve, strengthen and sustain the capabilities of the players,with the aim of them gaining more national and West Indies selection.
The former president is also advocating for more coaches to be assigned to the Region and placed to work in schools. According to him, there is only one coach that is currently attached to the ECB, following the resignation of Vibert Johnson and the migration of Alfred Maycock.

“ How can one Coach serve the entire Region, including in areas such as Wakenaam, Bartica, Leguan and in the Pomeroon?he further reasoned.Holder is also critical of the ECB for(allegedly) transforming itself into a clique of members whom he described as self-serving and even inactive.
Given his experience and willingness to contribute to the development of the game, Holder is contending that same can only be achieved with the restructuring of the ECB and the injection of fresh ideas.

The former president also questioned the ability of the acting president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Mr.Fizul Bacchus who is also the president of the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB). This follows the resignation of Mr. Drubahadur from the GCB.
Holder is of the opinion that cricket in Essequibo has massively deteriorated under Bacchus whom he opined does not have the qualities to lead the GCB or any cricket entity. “The ECB must be restructured as a matter of priority for sanity to be restored to Essequibo’s cricket,”he added .