West Indies board on the back foot

Although the West Indies board (WICB) has been quick to deny rumours flying round the Caribbean concerning the content of Justice Lucky's report, it seems increasingly likely that it will contain some criticisms of the board and the way the Digicel sponsorship was handled.

Yesterday, the WICB issued a press release stating that the committee members "wish to state that the reports contain a number of inaccuracies and the information is wholly inconsistent with the findings of the members of the committee on the major issues. Further, the wild speculation, which has been a feature of the reporting of the work of the committee, has in some cases been detrimental to the task of the committee."

That appears to have done little to quell speculation. A report in the influential Barbados Nation went as far as claiming that the WICB might be forced to renegotiate the deal with Digicel as well as completely overhauling the structure of the board to ensure "transparency and accountability" in its functioning. The article added that the report would be highly critical of the way the sponsorship was handled by the WICB.

That theme was echoed by the Jamaica Observer which added that critics of the deal would see the report as vindication of claims that it had been bad for the region's cricket. There were, the article added, also suggestions that Digicel had exerted considerable pressure on the board.

The committee, headed by Justice Anthony Lucky of Trinidad and Tobago, was established by the WICB in June after months of speculation and criticism to surrounding the board's contract with Digicel with a mandate to "review all aspects of the negotiations which led to the conclusion of the board's sponsorship arrangements with Cable & Wireless and its acceptance of a sponsorship agreement with Digicel".

Although the report was due to be submitted at the start of July, the committee requested an extension because of the amount of material it had to process. The report, which is expected to contain a range of significant recommendations, will be now be presented to Ken Gordon, the new WICB president, this Friday in Port of Spain.