MEMBERS of Cricket West Indies (CWI), have confirmed that this year’s Regional Under-19 cricket tournament has been moved from Guyana to St Vincent and the Grenadines due to the continued legal uncertainty with the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB).

The decision was made over the weekend when directors gathered for their quarterly series of meetings at the Sandals Grande Resort in Antigua.

At the two-day Directors’ Meeting, it was noted that this year’s tournament has greater significance as it is will be used to select the squad for the ICC U-19 World Cup to be played in South Africa in January 2020.

This year’s tournament will only feature 50-over cricket and in addition to the six matches to be played, the top 24 “future stars” will play an additional three 50-over games, ‘The Best vs The Best’, which will assist the selectors in naming the World Cup squad.

Directors had approved the previously agreed hosting by Guyana, to 2020.

A  High Court ruling recently had indicated that the executives of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) are illegal and cannot hold themselves out to be office-bearers or to do anything as it relates to the operations of the GCB because their last elections were unlawful, illegal, null, void and to no legal effect.

The matter was brought before High Court Judge, Justice Fidela Corbin, by Attorney Arudranauth Gossai on behalf of Secretary of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB), Rabindranauth Saywack, who claimed that the GCB was operating in contravention of the Guyana Cricket Administration Act established in 2014.

He also challenged the appointment of Stephen Lewis as Cricket Ombudsman, to which the High Court also ruled that the appointment was also declared unlawful, null, void and to no legal effect.

The GCB has not had a proper constituted or what many observers have labelled “free and fair” elections for the past ten years.

Staging of the GCB elections was faced with a major setback with the resignation of Guyana’s first-ever Cricket Ombudsman, Dr Winston McGowan.

Dr McGowan was appointed in 2005 by then Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony, and his appointment was subsequently approved by the-then Cabinet.

He was previously charged with overseeing the elections of the various county boards and the GCB, in accordance with the Cricket Administration Act which was successfully passed in the National Assembly by the previous government in May 2014, and assented to by then President Donald Ramotar in August of that year.

The GCB has not held elections since 2009 owing to the numerous court injunctions.

To this end, the board during the meeting also received an update on the status of various legal matters concerning the GCB during a two-day visit here in May by president of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Ricky Skerritt and Chief Executive Officer Jonny Grave.

The duo met with various cricket stakeholders and Government officials.