Dominica Prime Minister Skerrit urges Caricom leaders to avoid WICB confrontations

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has urged regional leaders to be less adversarial in their approach to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and cited cooperation as a much more useful tool for re-building the regional game.

There have been several recent and well-documented spats between various Caricom leaders and the WICB, with the majority of the disputes led by Grenada Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, and St Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who have strongly called for reform of the WICB.

Skerrit, however, while claiming that passion for the sport displayed by his colleagues was commendable believes a spirit of collaboration between the two bodies would be far more beneficial.

“We have to avoid the confrontation because it will only be a distraction,” said Skerrit on the state-owned DBS Radio.

“We have to see where are the positives and where are the weaknesses, and chip in to build on the strengths and fortify the weaknesses.

“We all love the game. It has been a unifying force in our Caribbean society and I think the anxiety that people have – and the leaders have expressed their views – is real concern.”

Earlier this year a Caricom appointed Independent Review Panel of the Caribbean Community Sub-Committee on Cricket Governance had recommended that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) be disbanded.  The proposal was rejected by the WICB.