NSC Manager responds to WICB report

Manager of the National Sports Council (NSC) Osbourne Browne has responded to a West Indies Cricket Board report on St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ hosting of three One Day International Cricket matches, between the West Indies and Zimbabwe in March of this year, stating it is “phantom”, “inaccurate” and “untrue”.{{more}}

Browne’s response was in relation to an article which appeared in the SEARCHLIGHT newspaper on Friday, October 8, 2010, captioned: “SVG gets marked down”.

The article referred to a report submitted by the West Indies Cricket Board to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association, in which several negative comments were made about this country’s hosting of the matches.

Browne, though, took offence with issues concerning the manner in which the pitches played on the three days.

“The National Sports Council sought and obtained the views of various officials and aficionados, including commentators, umpires, captains and match referee, using a specially designed form where they could indicate their findings, especially in relation to outfield and pitch quality, and one hundred percent of these persons overwhelmingly passed the venue with flying colours,” Browne told SEARCHLIGHT last Wednesday.

“Therefore, the report can best be described as a phantom,” he added.

Browne said that the matches in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, which produced very slow wickets, were much too helpful to the spin bowlers and caused the West Indies to perform horribly.

He said that the series was salvaged by the West Indies when they came to Arnos Vale, where the pitch was quicker and of predictable pace and bounce.

Browne continuing, stated: “the report on an air-conditioning unit which malfunctioned briefly seems puerile, petty and churlish, and should be dismissed as such, because electrical units periodically act up all over the world.”

Browne, in defending the NSC, said the two reported incidents of security breaches over the period of three match-days were a matter for the SVG Cricket Association, the venue owners, who rented the facility.

He said the SVGCA had responsibility for all aspects of security and accreditation.

On the matter of this country losing future tour matches, Browne replied: “The WICB must be reminded that the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines invested some 54 million dollars to upgrade its facilities for the hosting of international fixtures and we had no financial assistance from China or any other donor country.”

“They (WICB) have a responsibility to ensure that the proverbial cricket pie is equitably distributed and that “white elephant” situations are not orchestrated in the smaller territories,” the NSC Manager concluded. (RT)