It is with great dismay I take note of the ICC's February 1 condemnation of the Guyana government's intervention in Guyana's cricket affairs.

In a note dated November 11, 2011 to all ICC members, captioned “Regulations relating to Independence of Member Boards”, the ICC elaborates the virtues of national federations being “autonomous and free from interference from government in the administration of their affairs”, by pointing to at least eight examples.

However this regulation also took great pains to explain instances in which the role of government is necessary. “Naturally, a government (or any office thereof) would also not be prevented from investigating the affairs of a Member Board in order to ascertain whether any criminal offence has been committed, including fraud, dereliction of directors’ duties (including fiduciary duties) or contravention of any relevant legislation.

Similarly, there may be circumstances where a government (or any ministry thereof) rightfully seeks to intervene in the event that a Member Board is dysfunctional. The ICC Governance Review Committee believes that this is a question of accountability, not interference.”

Hence ICC's current posture regarding the condemnation of Guyana's cricket is ambiguous, a contravention of its own rules and in my opinion raises the suspicion of nepotisim.

Further, when combined with the stance of ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) on its refusal to earlier investigate a serious match-fixing allegation by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) potentially involving a director on the West Indies Cricket Board where the eventual make-up of the Guyana national cricket team was brought into question, makes the ICC’s recent pronouncement even more ambiguous.

How can the ICC establish such double-standards, on the one hand not investigating a serious allegation involving a sub-board, but in another condemning a government of a sub-board for lawful intervention as allowed by the ICC’s own rules.

Has the ICC mistakenly overstepped its jurisdiction in condemning the government's intervention in the cricketing affairs of Guyana, or have they failed to investigate the very gentlemen holding the reins of the GCB who can possibly benefit from the ICC's condemnation? And are we therefore seeing a greater and higher level of cover-up and corruption?

Jewan Persaud

Guyana