BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says there is a role for regional governments in the management of West Indies cricket, but warns that key questions about ownership of the regional game needed to be answered.

In a telephone interview with CMC Sports, Skerrit contended that cricket was too crucial to Caribbean life and development for governments to be excluded.

“It is unfortunate that people believe that in order to democratise something you have to get politicians out of the system,” Skerrit said.

“We are the ones who build infrastructure on the behalf of tax-paying citizens. Take Dominica for example, the stadium (Windsor Park) is owned by the people of Dominica, the taxpayers, and we are their legal representatives.

“There is no reason why one should believe you should leave out politicians in cricket or any sport for that matter. There are ways and means in which government can assist in the management and development of players.

“While I respect the principles of the ICC (International Cricket Council), at the end of the day how do you leave out government in a very important aspect of the country’s development and in this case, the region?”

He was speaking against the backdrop of estranged opener Chris Gayle’s call for CARICOM’s intervention in his impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board.

The talismanic Jamaican was repeatedly overlooked for selection for the just concluded series against India, and a stormy meeting in Jamaica last month between Gayle and the WICB failed to broker a solution.

Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo backed Gayle’s call for CARICOM intervention in the matter, with the Community subsequently deciding at the Summit last week in St Kitts to reactivate the sub-committee on cricket to deal with the affair.

Skerrit, who last week witnessed Dominica’s first ever hosting of a Test match at Windsor Park, said the issue of the ownership of West Indies cricket needed to be seriously addressed.

“The fundamental question which I think the Caribbean people and the Heads of Government will have to assist them in answering is who owns West Indies cricket,” he asserted.