West Indies sponsorship review committee split

An open split has emerged among the three-member committee that was established by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to review the sponsorship negotiations with Digicel. Against a background of media leaks on aspects of the report submitted by the committee, Avondale Thomas and Gregory Georges have disassociated themselves from a dissenting "declaration" by Justice Anthony Lucky that was not part of the main report, but which he has made available, along with signed copies of the report, to Ken Gordon, the new WICB president.

According to Georges and Thomas the declaration by Lucky, which is quite critical of the board's negotiating process with Digicel and, among other factors, suggests the need for renegotiation, does not form part of the committee's report that makes no "reference to the contract being null and void ...".

Contrary to the position adopted by Georges and Thomas, Justice Lucky said that, as both have admitted, they were privy to his personal "declaration" before it was presented, along with the committee's full report, to Gordon on August 15.

Lucky said his declaration, that also raised serious doubts about the legal status of the WICB and Digicel contract, was given as "an appendix" to the report which leaves serious doubts about how the negotiations of the sponsorship contract took place. On reflection, Lucky said, "perhaps it is a good thing that some things have come out in the media because the WICB has been running the show as if it was a secret society or private club."

While his committee colleagues, Georges and Thomas, have the right to reject his declaration, equally he has the right to present his dissenting position to the board "because I am part of an independent committee, and as one not receiving calls from any board member telling me who to interview and who not to interview ..."

Officially, the review committee's report remains a document yet to be considered by the executive board of the WICB. This is scheduled to be done on September 4. What is certainly not in either the main body of the report or among the appendices, is the actual sponsorship contract between Digicel and the WICB, negotiated and signed in secret, as various board members themselves have claimed but are still not ready to say on record.