All cricket cancelled in Barbados

Attorney Peter Symmonds (left) making a point to Barbados Cricket Association president Tony Marshall © The Nation

There will be no cricket in Barbados this weekend under the auspices of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA).

The embattled association was hit with an injunction yesterday, which prohibits the governing body for cricket from starting the 2006 domestic season until it receives an order from the High Court to do so.

Following an afternoon hearing in the No.5 Supreme Court, Justice William Chandler granted an injunction sought by attorney Ralph Thorne, on behalf of Bristol Cricket Club and its president, John Greaves.

Consequently, cricketers who were getting ready to take the field in the 58 scheduled matches ranging from the Banks Division 1 competition, to the Premier League, Intermediate, Second Division and Schools League, will now have to remain indoors today.

The case has been adjourned until next Friday and in the interim, the BCA, through Queen's Counsel Peter Symmonds, will file an affidavit in response to Bristol's claim.

The Old Coleridge, St Peter-based Oran/Carib Bristol team, who won the Premier League in 2004 and were second last year, are contending they should be promoted to the Division 1 competition.

Greaves, also a long-serving player, has made it clear he believes his club has been given a raw deal after the BCA this year promoted the University of the West Indies (UWI) and a second Barbados Youth team to the Division 1 competition.

Angered by their omission from the highest division, Bristol, arguably the most successful Premier League team in the past decade, sought a hearing and met with three high-ranking BCA board members on Wednesday when the matter was discussed for the first time.

After there was no resolution, the matter was referred to the BCA's board of management, which held a meeting yesterday morning.

However, Bristol's request for promotion was apparently turned down, and by mid-afternoon Thorne headed a team of lawyers, including Gregory Nicholls and Larry Smith, in seeking an injunction from the Supreme Court. BCA president Tony Marshall, general secretary Vernon Williams and business manager Rollins Howard attended yesterday's proceedings which were held in chambers.

Over the last few weeks cricketers were busy practising for the start of the season with nets and training sessions. By Thursday night, the majority of the clubs had already chosen their teams to play in the first series of matches, but they will now have to wait a while before they can get on the field of play.