MINISTER of Social Cohesion with responsibility for Sport, Dr George Norton, was on Friday reassured of Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) commitment to Guyana.

This assurance was given by the newly elected president of CWI, Mr Richard Skerritt, in light of the circumstances surrounding the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

“You have a strong partner in development, we want to see the continued development of cricket in Guyana,” Skerritt said.

The meeting, which was held at Minister Norton’s office, also comprised CWI’s Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave; CWI’s Development Manager Fawwaz Baksh; along with the Director of Sport, Christopher Jones and Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Dow-Richardson.

At the meeting Minister Norton congratulated Skerritt on his recent appointment, expressing confidence in the development of West Indies Cricket.

Norton was particularly persistent about the hosting of the Regional Under-19 Tournament in Guyana.

“I believe this would really go a far way in inspiring young cricketers, and that is what we want, young Guyanese to nurture their talents and make their country, and the West Indies proud,” the Minister opined.

The meeting discussed the challenges involving the GCB and ways of minimising its impacts on the hosting of international tournaments here in Guyana. The most immediate of these being India’s Tour of the Caribbean, which is scheduled to begin in August.

In this regard, given the current situation, Minister Norton has given his commitment to ensure that CWI is equipped with all that it needs to successfully host these matches in Guyana, with agreements for India’s Tour being confirmed by the Government of Guyana.

The meeting also discussed the development of cricket programmes for youths in grassroots communities and the hinterland regions.

To this end, Skerritt informed the meeting of CWI’s intention to develop the sport using approaches that will allow for greater productivity in West Indies cricket.

“We want to have a bottoms–up approach. Especially when it comes to youths in the rural areas; they are always so appreciative and willing to work with what is provided,” Skerritt said.

Assistant Director of Sport, Melissa Dow-Richardson also emphasised the need for CWI to ensure that its programmes are geared towards gender parity.

Skerritt responded favourably, noting that the CWI is certainly becoming more gender-conscious.

As the meeting wrapped up, Skerritt lauded Guyana for its Cricket Administration Act.

However, Skerritt pointed towards the speedy reconciliation of issues surrounding the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) as integral.

“As far as the Act is concerned, Guyana is way ahead of many other countries, it is important to properly regulate sports. It just needs to sort out this situation with the GCB,” Skerritt said.

Meanwhile, following Skerritt’s meeting with Guyana’s cricket stakeholders on Thursday, Claude Raphael, (former CWI Director and National Selector) speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, told Chronicle Sport that Skerritt’s immediate concern is the legality of the GCB which would pave the way for a bigger and brighter partnership with CWI.

Raphael revealed that Skerritt noted Guyana’s sterling contribution and partnership with CWI in recent times, something that has not gone unnoticed. However, due to the illegality of the GCB at present, that issue would have to be fixed for the CWI to move forward hand-in-hand with Guyana’s cricket administration.