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Hall of Famer criticises treatment of Wright

Hall of Famer: Dennis Wainwright

Cricket legend Dennis Wainwright has called on clubs to launch their own investigation into the controversial circumstances that led to former Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) executive Derek Wright parting company with local cricket’s governing body.In a recent interview with The Royal Gazette, the former selection committee chairman alleged that he was asked to resign or threatened with expulsion after Board CEO Neil Speight allegedly filed a complaint against him.Wright refused to resign but opted not to seek re-election as a club representative at the BCB’s annual general meeting last week.Hall of Fame cricketer Wainwright questioned whether it was constitutional for Wright’s colleagues to ask for his resignation or expel him and has strongly urged the clubs to launch an independent probe into the controversial matter.“I absolutely think the clubs should look into this matter which is grounds for a probe,” he said. “When you expel or ask a member that we put there as a club member to resign then I want to know what’s the reason behind it.“When I heard Derek Wright was asked to resign I asked myself what kind of constitution do they (BCB) have now. I can understand him being asked to step down from the chairmanship (selection committee) because that’s an appointment from the administration. But you cannot expel a member that’s been put there by the clubs.“It’s like asking some to resign from politics; if a constituency puts you there the Premier can’t say you are no longer a member of the Government and it’s the same thing with club representatives. The clubs put you there and the president (Lloyd Fray) and CEO (Neil Speight) have no right or power to ask him (Wright) to resign from the Board or expel him.”BCB president Fray disagreed, insisting that the Board were within their Constitutional rights to ask Wright to resign or expel him for his indiscretion.“The BCB has not breached its Constitutional documents, or its obligations to uphold its position with respect to governance,” he said in a brief statement. “Any claims or allegations otherwise are completely without foundation.”Wright initially landed himself in hot water with his BCB colleagues after he was brought up on a charge for speaking to this newspaper on a legitimate cricket issue. Matters then escalated after he refused to attend a private meeting with BCB president Fray, CEO Speight and secretary Cheryl-Ann Mapp concerning remarks he made to this newspaper.He claims Speight later filed a grievance against him after he strongly rejected to having the CEO sit on the three-member committee.One of the reasons Wright did not attend the meeting was because he felt Speight’s involvement was a conflict of interest, sentiments echoed by Wainwright.“That is unusual because you cannot file a complaint against an individual and then sit in judgement, which is unethical,” he said.Wainwright believes Wright should not have been brought up on charges for speaking to the media on legitimate cricket matters in the first place.“I’ve never heard of such nonsense,” he said. “The chairman of a selection committee is asked a question and he gives an honest response and he’s penalised. I’ve never heard of a chairman who cannot say anything in the interest of cricket.”Wainwright said the BCB had lost a good servant in Wright.“By losing Derek Wright we’ve lost one of the best administrators and hard workers on that Board,” he added. “I know how hard he worked in administration at Flatts and the Eastern Counties and also as a player.“We’ve lost a person not afraid to speak his mind. He’s not a big-headed person or self opinionated person, but he will speak up when if finds something is wrong.”