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West Indies team selection conundrum

admin — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 18:20:01 +0000

West Indies team selection conundrum admin Mon, 10/04/2021 - 18:20

Friday, October 1, 2021

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Original Article

The recent announcement of the West Indies team for this month’s World T/20 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, has opened up a can of worms. More so, the personnel selected has reignited the issue of insularity which has long been a bug-bear in West Indies cricket.

However, it was welcoming that the release of the team stirred up discussion amongst a wide cross section of the West Indian cricket community.

At least, whilst the fortunes of the regional team in all three formats are nothing to shout about, the varied responses mean that there are pockets of support, concern and interest in the West Indies flagship outfit.

But disconcertingly, what emerged was the questioning of the selectors’ choices from influential persons.

Among them were the president of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali; Barbados’ prime minister Mia Mottley and the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board’s president, Azim Bassarath, who is also a director of Cricket West Indies (CWI).

Both Ali and Mottley made claims for the omission of their countrymen. Ali questioned Guyanese Romario Shepherd not being part of the team, while Mottley was unimpressed with her fellow Barbadian Jason Holder being relegated to the travelling reserves.

In the case of Bassarath, he joined Ali and bellowed for Shepherd too.

Notably, the likes of former players Sir Andy Roberts and Jeffrey Dujon also weighed in on the composition of the team.

But as the temperature rose, it was good response and timely public relations from president and vice-president of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow, respectively, who immediately attempted to pour cold water on the barrage of criticisms.

Skerritt and Shallow did what they had to do, as any administrator worth his salt would have done.

However, the criticisms from various persons are merited, as some of the reasoning proffered lacked logic.

This, as the inclusion of Ravi Rampaul and Roston Chase was based on their form on their Caribbean Premier League (CPL) performance. On the other hand, Chris Gayle had a miserable CPL, likewise Oshane Thomas.

Everyone knows how destructive Gayle can be, but he has been poor in recent times. In fact, he scored 162 runs in the CPL, with a highest score of 42. In the case of Thomas, he collected six wickets at an average of 7.39.

So, on one hand the CPL was used for some and not for others, as Odean Smith displayed the “x” factor which was used for Thomas. Smith, though, is not on the team, despite bagging 18 wickets at a cost of 7.58. For Smith’s cause, he showed he could whack a few with the bat, as he scored 126 runs.

Therefore, who is fooling who? Many would have also built an argument for the non-inclusion of Sherfane Rutherford, who during the recently concluded CPL, scored 262 runs at an average of 37.42, with three half centuries.

Rutherford was not selected, but for some inexplicable reason, Darren Bravo, with an average of 16.33 runs, found his way as part of the four members of the travelling reserves. Unfortunately, Bravo is not among the go-to West Indians on the various T/20 leagues around the globe. Rutherford, though, is sought, not only for his explosive batting, but his electric fielding.

In saying so, no selection will ever have the backing of all cricket lovers, but those who have the task of doing the selection must have their bearings right and back their decisions.

This column accepts that the selectors would have looked at the many factors before settling on the final 15, as well as the travelling reserves.

T/20 cricket has changed its dynamics over the years, with smarts and fitness playing critical functions. The West Indies though sports a team with half on the better side of 30.

As such, Chris Gayle is 42, Dwayne Bravo will be 38 before the tournament bowls off; Ravi Rampaul turns 37 during the tournament, Lendl Simmons, 36, Kieron Pollard, 34, while Andre Fletcher and Andre Russell are 33.

Although among the lot of over-30s, there are some relatively fit ones, Gayle and Rampaul are liabilities in the field, which must be factored in. Are we assured that their contribution with bat (Gayle) and ball (Rampaul), can compensate for their under-par fielding efforts?

All in all, beyond the concerns listed above, T/20 cricket remains more or less a lottery. On a given day, the regional side, with its match winners can come good. So, while the West Indies team selection has come in for some flack, there remains that possibility that come Sunday, November 14, West Indians the world over, will be drunk with joy, as they can be celebrating another global ICC title.

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VI threatened with EU blacklist again

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 17:30:01 +0000

VI threatened with EU blacklist again admin Wed, 02/03/2021 - 17:30

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

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Business – The BVI Beacon

Original Article

VI threatened with EU blacklist again

The dawn of Brexit could find the Virgin Islands on the European Union blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions even though the territory passed economic substance legislation in 2018 specifically to avoid that censure.

Last week, the European parliament passed a resolution calling for a measure that would automatically blacklist British territories like the VI, the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands that have a zero percent corporate tax rate — and that now have a weakened voice in the EU in the wake of the United Kingdom’s split from the organisation.

The VI is not specifically mentioned in the resolution, which singled out the Cayman Islands — a UK territory that was removed from the blacklist late last year — for still having a zero percent corporate tax rate and for its inclusion in the top 10 destinations for “phantom investments” in a ranking by the International Monetary Fund.

This situation “raises questions about transparency and about a possible preferential approach to some countries,” the resolution states. “The State of Tax Justice 2020 report found that a mere two percent of global tax losses were caused by jurisdictions on the EU list;whereas the Cayman Islands were found to be the jurisdiction responsible for the most global tax losses, costing others over $70 billion a year, or 16.5 percent of the total tax losses.”

The resolution, which passed last week by a vote of 587 to 50, includes provisions calling for the automatic inclusion of countries that use a zero percent tax regime.

The inclusion of such jurisdictions on the blacklist, which was last revised in October and now includes 12 jurisdictions, would rest on a decision by the 27 member states on the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which was set to meet this week.

History

As in other OTs, leaders in the VI have long criticised the EU’s blacklists as arbitrary and misleading, maintaining that the territory’s financial services industry is tightly regulated in keeping with international standards.

Nevertheless, the VI was grey-listed along with other jurisdictions in 2017. At the last review of the list in March 2018, the EU concluded that the VI, the Bahamas and Cayman needed further technical guidance from the EU and had until the end of 2019 to adapt local legislation, which resulted in the Economic Substance Act being rushed through the House of Assembly in late 2018.

Thanks to this move, the VI was whitelisted, alongside 16 other jurisdictions, in February 2020. Although Cayman did pass new legislation at the end of January 2020, it appears the move came too late, with the EU stating that the territory “does not have appropriate measures in place relating to economic substance in the area of collective investment vehicles.” Thus, Cayman remained on the blacklist before being removed in October along with Oman.

The list currently includes American Samoa, Anguilla, Barbados, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, the Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu. However, in its resolution last week, EU noted that some of the most “harmful third jurisdictions,” including the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, had been removed from the list after “very minimal substance criteria and weak enforcement measures.”

The EU’s resolution calls on the EU Council to “include the automatic listing of third jurisdictions with a zero percent corporate tax rate or with no taxes on companies’ profits as a standalone criterion.”

Besides Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic has put pressure on nations to tackle budget shortfalls, causing them to look to low-tax jurisdictions to recover the perceived lost revenue. The Brexit deal was based on “mutual values and geared towards common prosperity, which automatically excludes aggressive tax competition,” the resolution noted.

The post VI threatened with EU blacklist again appeared first on The BVI Beacon.

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Leon to take over as CDB president

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 11:00:01 +0000

Leon to take over as CDB president admin Wed, 01/20/2021 - 11:00

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NationNews Barbados — nationnews.com

Original Article

Leon to take over as CDB president

Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon was elected by the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to serve as the next president of the multi-lateral institution.

His appointment will become effective on May 1, 2021 and he will succeed Dr William Warren Smith who has been at the helm of the regional financial institution for the last ten years.

Leon has over 30 years of experience in economic development and directed macroeconomic and financial policy support to government authorities in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia and the Caribbean. He worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for more than 24 years, serving as Mission Chief for the Gulf States of Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates as well as The Bahamas, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. He also served as the IMF’s senior resident representative in Jamaica.

Prior to his engagement with the IMF, Leon was an associate professor at State University of New York at Old Westbury in the United States. He also served as Director of Research at the Central Bank of Barbados and country economist at CDB.

Leon holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom (UK) and a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc.) in Economics from the University of London.

“I am deeply honoured by the trust that the Board of Governors has demonstrated in my experience and ability. The CDB remains an instrumental partner in regional development. I look forward to working with all Member States and a tremendous staff with zeal and unrelenting commitment,” he said of his appointment. (PR)

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Dr Leon will be the next president of CDB

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:50:01 +0000

Dr Leon will be the next president of CDB admin Wed, 01/20/2021 - 09:50

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Original Publisher

Barbados Today

Original Article

Dr Leon will be the next president of CDB

The Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has elected Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon to serve as the next president of the multi-lateral institution.

Dr. Leon’s appointment will become effective on May 1, 2021. He will succeed Dr. Warren Smith who has been at the helm of the regional financial institution for the last 10 years.

Dr. Leon has over 30 years of experience in economic development and has directed macroeconomic and financial policy support to government authorities in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia and the Caribbean.

He has worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for more than 24 years, serving as Mission Chief for the Gulf States of Oman, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates as well as The Bahamas, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. He also served as the IMF’s Senior Resident Representative in Jamaica.

Prior to his engagement with the IMF, Dr. Leon was an Associate Professor at State University of New York at Old Westbury in the United States. He has also served as Director of Research at the Central Bank of Barbados and Country Economist at CDB.

Dr. Leon holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom (UK) and a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.Sc.) in Economics from the University of London also in the U.K.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Leon said: “I am deeply honored by the trust that the Board of Governors has demonstrated in my experience and ability. The CDB remains an instrumental partner in regional development. I look forward to working with all Member States and a tremendous staff with zeal and unrelenting commitment.” (CDB/PR)

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