Aspiring Cricket West Indies (CWI) President Anand Sanasie is very confident he can topple the incumbent Richard ‘Ricky’ Skerritt when CWI host its Annual General Meeting and Elections of Officer Bearers on Sunday (March 28).
Sanasie and his running mate Calvin Hope have been campaigning under the theme ‘Operation RESCUE’. ‘Operation RESCUE’ is premised on Restoring Excellence, Soundness, Confidence, Unity and Enthusiasm.
The incumbent’s theme is #FORWARD ‘WI’ GO, staying on track with the ‘Cricket First’ policy, which guided their first term in office.
Sanasie and Hope are both Directors of CWI; Businessman Sanasie is the current Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board and Attorney-at-Law Hope is Vice-president of the Barbados Cricket Association.
On Friday, Sanasie did not want to disclose how he expects the votes to go, but said he is confident he will win.
On the other hand, Skerritt’s running mate, Dr. Kishore Shallow, had stated publicly this week that he anticipates their camp to win 9-3 or possibly 10-2. Skerritt had defeated former President Dave Cameron 8-4 in 2019.
“Yes I am [confident], and if I see that [winning] pathway I would have not have been in the race,” Sanasie stated in an interview.
He added, “Dr. Shallow, with whom I have a cordial relationship, is certainly very ambitious. It is an election and I would say everyone expects to win. I would not venture to predict by what margin because I am sure Shallow cannot win by the margin he is predicting and he might say the same thing about me.”
“There have been surprises before when other incumbents have said that they are extremely confident; I have no doubt they have a right to do that, but only the results can tell you that. I would advise Dr. Shallow that we stick to the Articles of Association and do everything in the right way.”
The Kittitian Skerritt and the Vincentian Dr. Shallow have received support from the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) and Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), along with formal advice of support from the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control (WICBC), of which Dr. Shallow is President.
The Sanasie/Hope ticket is backed by the Guyana Cricket Board and the Barbados Cricket Association.
Response to critics
Skerritt, along with other members of the cricket fraternity, has publicly chastised Sanasie for what they deem “bad governance” of Guyana’s cricket and questioned how an individual with such a track record is befitting the role of CWI President.
The GCB has been fighting numerous court matters from stakeholders, many of whom have voiced the need for a “legitimate board”.
Sanasie, in response, stated that he should be judged by the output on the field and the developments he has made in Guyana.
“I hope that the Guyanese people understand that cricket politics in the Caribbean is far bigger than we think and the local squabbles do not help in any way.”
He added, “Yes, I have been here 10 years, but why don’t we talk about the successes in the 10 years, basically swimming against the tide. A lot of what I and Guyana [Cricket Board] have had to endure is because of the opponents not accepting they are not in office. They abuse the court system and to some extent not in a way I would term fair.”
“A lot of players would have had political influence and regardless of which administration is in power in Guyana, this issue has transitioned different governments over the 10 years and I would hope very soon rather later it will be resolved. Yes, it is a concern for me, but it is a greater concern for me to be sitting at Cricket West Indies for 10 years and see that it is getting worse.”
If successful, Sanasie said he will not seek to victimise anyone who would have seemingly been against his candidacy since it is imperative all parties work together to move West Indies cricket forward.
Willing to serve
In the event he is unsuccessful, Sanasie indicated he would still be willing to serve in any capacity.
“I guess for me nothing changes; if Guyana needs me to serve, I will serve. We still have unfinished business in Guyana which I would like to see being resolved and in whatever way it is resolved it is fine by me.”
“I would say though that my track record over 10 years of success on the field of play is there and it is recorded and I would like to be judged on that and not only the achievements on the field, but the LBI [La Bonne Intention] Facility and certain things that have happened. I enjoy challenges, but I get bored when it is not interesting but I will continue to do what is needed to be done but in an enhanced way.”
Sunday’s election is set to be a Virtual one due to the ongoing pandemic. However, according to Sanasie, there is some contention over whether the voting process will be done via secret ballot or by the show of hands.
There is also a bone of contention with stakeholders not receiving the Audited Financial Statements of the Cricket West Indies Consolidated Accounts in due time prior to Sunday’s election.
CWI on Friday afternoon said a copy of the 2019/20 audited financial statements and the Annual Report will be made available to all stakeholders via CWI’s website – http://www.windiescricket.com – from Monday, March 29.
