From all appearances the meeting to remove Morrishaw was held late last week, which according to a source was attended by most of the New York Region board of directors. A vote was held and a two thirds majority was achieved to zap Morrishaw, who maintains that the meeting was unconstitutional, deeming it null and void. According to Morrishaw only the chairman can call meetings, and he did not do so, according to the constitution the Region abides by.

New York Representative to the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA), Kris Prasad reportedly called the meeting. Former USACA treasurer and longstanding New York cricket official Selwyn Caesar was appointed as interim chairman, during the caucus. Caesar confirmed the appointment, stating his acceptance, but Morrishaw is maintaining his status as Chairman, and is threatening legal action within a few days. Morrishaw said he has asked USACA to intervene, and is waiting on a response. He pointed out that the New York team to contest the National Finals was submitted, two days before an October 14 deadline, for the series slated for mid November, and hinted that any attempt to tamper with the selection of players or officials could be cause for him to start legal action. But Caesar said the proper team was selected over the weekend, with a different management panel. He said the playing squad would be released later on Monday.

USACA vice president Manaf Mohamed who overseas operations, said he has not received any team list, and is awaiting the submission, confirming that the deadline has passed. Efforts to contact USACA president Gladstone Dainty for a reaction to the explosive development were unsuccessful.

New York qualified for the National Finals by winning the Eastern Conference title, due to a splendid comeback performance in their final match, based partly to brilliant tactical work by the management team, in Washington in July. The finals are set for Florida.

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By Orin Davidson

Nov 9, 2009

Controversy has been an indelible part of United States cricket, not because of its circumstances but  rather  its administrators cannot seem to exit without disagreement.

In New York it is no different.

 In the lead up to this year’s  National Championships, the latest round of trouble could unearth problems that could hinder whatever progress the sport has made here since the International Cricket Council (ICC ) two suspensions  of three years ago,  of the United States of America Cricket Association threatened the existence of organized serious cricket in entire country, most notably New York.

A decision by the New York Cricket committee to remove the coach and manager that successfully piloted the state’s team to winning the Eastern Conference title, that paved the way for their participation in the National Finals,  is sowing the seeds of upheaval one week before the start of the competition next weekend.

Following the alleged shakeup of the New York committee through the removal of the organization’s chairman Jeffery Morrishaw via a no-confidence motion vote, to which the latter is disputing, Linden Fraser, one of America’s most well known and accomplished coaches was replaced for no apparent cricket reason as New York team coach, by a new committee leader,  laying claim to the position.

As a result it was reported that many players in the squad selected are planning to boycott the team, due to the committee’s action .  Charges of favoritism and nepotism are flying back and forth as the reason for Fraser’s removal, which from all evidence is unfair and unwarranted.   Adding fuel to the fire is the removal too of the team manager Linden ‘Doc’ Dodson who also played a pivotal role in New York staging a memorable comeback to win the Conference crown in July.

The players are upset and so are many fans , as no plausible explanation could be had for the squad’s  management  cleansing .  Selwyn Caesar who says he was asked to fill in as interim chairman,  said the decision was made by New York Board to change the coach and manager, and he endorsed it. But  Caesar failed to explain the sense behind the change, offering a “I don’t know’ response when asked if the new management of Zamin Amin as coach and Godfrey Mitchell as manager  could do a better job than Fraser  and Dodson.

For some reason it seems influential persons within the New York setup do  not want Fraser’s input, despite his excellent record at both the senior and junior team levels.

Earlier this year he was surprisingly  passed up for the United States Under-19 team coach after  proving   himself superior  to the rest. That was for the Americas Championships in Canada.  Weeks later with little preparation Fraser took the senior New York side under his wing  to bring home another title win, to  add to two national tournament wins with the NY Under-19s.

With this level of dysfunctional leadership, of which this latest round of  warped appointments,  could cause a divide among the players,  New York cricket faces a rocky road ahead.

The national senior tournament is scheduled for  November 13-14 at Brian Piccolo Park, in Florida where New York,  Florida and the two qualifiers from the Western Conference will do battle.