BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

PRESIDENT OF Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali has been selected to replace Dr Keith Rowley as the new chairman of the CARICOM subcommittee on cricket.

The announcement was made by outgoing chairman Dr Rowley on Friday during the final day of the 48th CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Barbados.

Dr Rowley revealed it would be his final CARICOM meeting and said Dr Ali had been selected as the new chairman.

“…This is the end of my tenure as prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and my last meeting at CARICOM.

“Today, I handed over to the plenary, selected, or agreed to select, my colleague … my colleague from Guyana, who is an eminent cricketer, as you know, President Dr Irfaan Ali to now take the chairmanship of the subcommittee on cricket,” Dr Rowley said.

“We maintain our interest in the potential for West Indies cricket to remain at the high level internationally and the preservation of our legacy and the heads of government should continue to be interested in what goes on in West Indies cricket and assist wherever we can.”

Dr Rowley said West Indies cricket had been discussed during the three-day meeting, although not in great detail.

He said this was because of the fact that progress had been made in some areas, following talks in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

“In recent times, we have not been having heads of government meetings without having a component from West Indies cricket,” Dr Rowley said.

“We did have some discussion, not too much detail, because we have done some work before in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, and we’ve seen some results. Some progress has been made and are being made.”