Aussies threaten Guyana boycott -govt to mount lobby By Donald Duff Stabroek News April 27, 1999 The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) yesterday threatened not to send its cricketers to Guyana unless security is improved at Bourda and Sports Minister Gail Teixeira says the government will be lobbying to redress the damage caused by last Wednesday's incident.' "It would be a shame and disgrace for all of us if Guyana would be unable to stage future Test matches. Guyana has produced so many outstanding cricketers...," the Minister told Stabroek News yesterday. While describing Wednesday's debacle as "extremely unfortunate" Teixeira said the government planned to raise the issue at the CARICOM level and with the governing bodies, the International Cricket Council and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). "People don't like politicians to become involved in sport," she said adding that raising the matter at the CARICOM level was to ensure that Guyana was not ostracised from international Test matches. A Reuter report yesterday quoted ACB spokesman Michael Hogan on Australia's intended boycott of Bourda. "We won't be going back to Guyana unless things change," Hogan told the AAP. The move by the ACB was sparked by the running onto the pitch by unruly spectators in the dying stages of the fifth Cable and Wireless one-day international between the West Indies and Australia last Wednesday. Australia needed four runs off the last delivery in order to win the match but match referee Raman Subba Row ruled that spectators running onto the pitch prevented Australian captain Steve Waugh and vice captain Shane Warne from completing a third run which would have levelled the scores. Subba Row, after watching television replays with the two captains ruled the match a tie despite the fact that the West Indies lost fewer wickets. Following the `Bourda Debacle' the GCB in a release said it accepted "ultimate responsibility" for the incident and would be mounting an investigation into the matter. Minister Teixeira yesterday said the government is awaiting the results of the probe. "I will be meeting with the representatives of the GCB and the GCC (Georgetown Cricket Club) to discuss the results of the probe and to see what action can be taken." Teixeira said ideally the probe should be a tri-partite one involving an independent person as well as representatives from the GCB and the GCC. She added that following the results of the report the government would then take action in relation to visiting teams from Australia or any others. These actions should include beefing up security to avoid risks to the players whose safety should be paramount, Teixeira said. Sunday's seventh and final one-day match of the series at Kensington Oval in Barbados was marred by bottle throwing following the dismissal of local hero Sherwin Campbell by the run-out route. Campbell appeared to be impeded by Australian Brendon Julian as he attempted a sharp single but was given out by umpire Basil Morgan. As Campbell left the field angry spectators threw beer bottles and other missiles forcing play to be stopped. The behaviour of the crowd in Barbados was condemned by Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday. "I think it is quite distressing that mob violence and mob intimidation can have an impact on the result of a game," Howard said in a Reuter report. "It does appear from what I heard that the umpire's decision was altered as a result of threats by the crowd and an indication that the physical safety (of the Australian cricketers) could not be guaranteed...Sports administrators around the world have got to show more leadership on these issues," he added. "The issue of lawlessness on the cricket fields in Guyana and Barbados is a reflection of what is happening in our society in a larger sense. It takes into account what is happening in our countries where we seem to have a sort of mob behaviour which does not bode well," said Teixeira. Teixeira noted that there has been violence in sports in other parts of the world, but said "We've got to get our act in order." And president of the Australian Cricketers' Association, former Australian cricketer Tim May is calling on the ICC to implement a security rating for all international grounds. Saying he was disgusted but not surprised by the bottle throwing incident in Barbados, May called on the ICC to take action and take cricket away from grounds that did not meet the security standards. The incident in the West Indies/Australia match was the second such in Bourda's short history of staging one-day internationals. The first involved Pakistan in 1993 and, like Wednesday's game against Australia, both times the act by the spectators cost the West Indies victory. Following the 1993 game an enquiry headed by former Chief Justice Rudolph Harper recommended that attention be paid to reinforcing the fence surrounding the ground as a deterrent to invasions of the field. The report also recommended higher fences on the southern section of the ground and suggested that a notice be mounted on the gates warning against the practice of running onto the field by spectators. The use of the public address system for announcements and warnings aimed at controlling spectators' fervour and the use of private security services to complement the Guyana Police Force especially in the area of internal security, were also among the recommendations.