No ICC post for Windies chief

The only nominee to head the West Indies Cricket Board will not be allowed to attend meetings of the International Cricket Council because he runs a bookmaking operation, an ICC official said.

With the withdrawal of his only opponent, Trinidad and Tobago's Willie Rodriguez, Chetram Singh, head of the Guyana Cricket Board for 11 years and proprietor of Goodwood Racing Services, is the only candidate to succeed Wes Hall as president at the WICB's annual general meeting in Dominica on the weekend.

The 53-year-old horse-racing bookmaker from Georgetown has overseen the re-emergence of Guyana as a cricketing power in the region, being at the helm as the Under-19s won six consecutive titles.

Hall, 65, the fiery fast bowler of the 1960s and former selector and team manager, is quitting after two years for health reasons.

Brendan McClements, the ICC general manager of corporate affairs, said in a telephone interview that the ICC's code of ethics specifically says no director 'shall be engaged or actively involved in, directly or indirectly, any conduct analogous to... gambling or any other form of financial speculation.'

The ICC regulations on gambling were tightened following the match-fixing scandal that led to the life bans of Test captains Mohammad Azharuddin, Hansie Cronje and Salim Malik in 2000.

McClements said the WICB would still be free to place qualified representatives on the ICC's directorate.

Singh said officials would consider his eligibility to attend ICC meetings, among other matters, at a one-day meeting in Barbados on Thursday.

"That is one of the matters on the agenda. It does not mean that the president has to attend all meetings. He can deputise anyone," Singh said. "I can always send a representative."