Doctrove - file

ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC):

The sixth round of matches in the Carib Beer Series regional series could be in jeopardy following a threat by the West Indies Cricket Umpires' Association (WICUA) to withdraw the services of its members for the remainder of the competition.

The threat of the boycott surfaced when two Trinidadian umpires, Bruce Hayden and Kaso Dowlath, nominated by WICUA and appointed by the Umpires Sub-Committee for regional duties this year, were replaced by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

Experienced Test umpire Billy Doctrove, WICUA's area vice-president with responsibilities for the Windward Islands, explained that the decision to stage the boycott was a show of solidarity with their Trinidadian counterparts.

Dissatisfied

"The West Indies Cricket Umpires Association is very much dissatisfied with the manner in which two of our members were disenfranchised and removed from the panel of umpires for the first class cricket season this year," said Doctrove, who has stood in 15 Tests and 73 One-Day Internationals. "We are of the opinion that the two umpires were victimised by the relevant authorities in Trinidad and Tobago.

"Both the Umpires Sub-Committee and the West Indies Cricket Umpires' Association stated quite clearly to the West Indies Cricket Board that the two umpires had to be reinstated on the panel. But for some strange reason, the WICB took a unilateral decision after speaking to somebody in authority in the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board. We are extremely unhappy with the turn of events and as a result, we have decided to withdraw our services for the remainder of the competition until the two umpires are reinstated."

He added: "This is a decision that we have thought through for very long and we are all united in our stance. We have spoken to all the umpires and we are confident that no matches will be played this weekend in Jamaica, St Thomas and in Barbados."

"We know that they were removed from the panel because they were on the 'other side' of the rift which currently exists within the umpiring fraternity in Trinidad and Tobago. We are saying that this kind of treatment is unfair and uncalled for. As a body, we are standing in solidarity with our colleagues.

The Dominican, a member of the ICC Elite Panel of umpires, said the removal of the two officials was strange since the duo had performed well during last year's competition.

"The removal of the umpires from the panel is unjustified since they performed very well last year. Their performances for last year were rated highly by the captains," Doctrove said.

He continued: "The West Indies Cricket Umpires' Association deserves to be treated with respect by the West Indies Cricket Board and we want them to uphold the decision which was taken by our association and the Umpires Sub- Committee. The WICB cannot arbitrarily overturn a decision taken by the two bodies."

Doctrove said he was hoping that good sense would prevail and that the two umpires would be reinstated, since the move by the WICB had set a bad precedence."