By Sam Sooppersaud
Another episode in the ongoing saga of “problems in USACA.” The latest being the resignation of the First Vice President, Mr. Nabeel Ahmed. By now most of you are aware of the reasons he gave for his resignation.
Nabeel Ahmed
Mr. Ahmed was looked upon as the “conscience” of the Board. He was always ready to listen to the various issues and problems of the various regions, leagues, and even individuals. He showed great empathy for their concerns. Yet those charged with the responsibilities of looking into these issues and problems dragged their feet. As he put it,”…We have many offices and committees to handle different issues, but for some reason either they do not feel like working or are hesitant to handle the issues in a timely manner.” His resignation was to “protest (at) the lack of action by the important members of the board….”
In his e-mail to OnDrive and myself , this is what Nabeel said, in part, “…………Over the last two years I am frustrated and confused by the actions or lack of actions of some important members of USACA under President Dainty’s leadership…..”
What we see now on the USACA Board is a classic case of mismanagement, deviousness, and divisiveness. This was substantiated by the Director of the Central West Region, Ahmed Jeddy, in his e-mail letter to OnDrive. This is what Jeddy wrote, verbatim, ” …there is a rift on the Board of Directors….it is one of the reasons for the resignation of the First Vice President…” Jeddy lashed out at his fellow directors whom he claimed “were not working together…”
Talk to cricketing people around the country you’ll hear phrases like, “we are fed up…” Dainty and his boys (are) just having a good time..”, “..cricket is going nowhere ‘in the USA…”… With all the negativity that have been emanating from our ruling cricket body in the USA, you can’t blame cricket lovers for harboring such feelings and thoughts about USACA. It is the pervading belief that the root of the evil lies in the fact that it is the same people who have screwed up in the past running things again.
The predecessor of Dainty in the presidency was “Chic” Masood Syed. His work, or lack of it, ultimately resulted in our suspension as an Associate member of the International Cricket Conference (ICC). The failure of Masood convinced the presidents of the leagues around the country to make a change. They elected Dainty the top position of USACA. He was to be the “knight in the shining armor, come to rescue the princess…” Instead he became a “(k)nightmare” to USACA. His MO- modus operandi: despotism, handing out gratuity ( reimbursements to favorite board members for unauthorized travel), total disregard for the USACA Constitution. I would not go on, I’m sure the readers can add to this MO of Dainty’s.
In 2004, Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Speed, two executives with ICC, in a letter to Dainty, credited him , singlehandedly, with the failure of Project USA. What is Project USA? USACA has been trying for many years to get Full Member countries to come to the USA to play international cricket. A feasibility study was undertaken by Gary Hopkins. He concluded that the USA has the potential to be a lucrative cricket market. ICC would have used the proceeds from these international fixtures to improve the game in this country. We, meaning USACA, dragged our feet. The project fell apart.
Mani and Speed’s final comments directed to Dainty, “… we have seen numerous sporting organizations in various states of disarray throughout our period of involvement as sports administrators. We have never seen a sporting organization that combines such great potential and such poor administration as USACA. From our observations, much of the blame for this lies with the current office bearers of USACA, including you. We question whether the current administration of USACA can play any constructive role in taking the game forward in the United States”.
The former First Vice President of USACA is a man of integrity. Those who know him personally, will tell you that this is a person who ” has cricket in this country at heart”. He is always willing and ready to listen to whatever cricketing problems clubs, or even individuals may be encountering. He does his utmost to give positive advice. This was the same concern he demonstrated while on the administration and board of USACA. He tried his best to bridge the gap among his fellow Directors, to get them to work together . Apparently they were hell bent. They did not budge.
He spoke to CEO Don Lockerbie, to individual members of the board, to the president, with regards to the disfunctional of the Board. All his efforts fell on deaf ears. When he felt that he had done everything he possible could, but still could not bring about the changes, Nabeel made up his mind that he no longer wanted to remain a part of that Board. He kept his sanity in that sanitorium, the Board, he wanted to leave with his sanity intact. Since OnDrive broke the news of the First VP’s impending resignation I have spoken to numerous persons, those who know him on a personal level and those who know him on a professional
level. They all speak highly of the man.
Looking forward to 2011, what does the future holds for USACA. This question can only be answered by the presidents of the leagues around the entire United States. They are the ones who vote to elect the officials of USACA. They are the ones who comprise the regional boards. They are the ones who chose the additional four members of the regional boards. They are part of the regional administration that elects the region’s director. They , as part of the regional administration, elect a representative from their region to serve on the USACA board. So Messer Presidents begin doing your homework starting now. Comes election time next year we want to get the most suitable candidates elected to the hierarchy of USACA. Our cricket depends on you.
What’s your opinion, we’ll like to know. Contact thru this website, or call me at (718) 844-7236, or e-mail me at : Ssamrajs@verizon.net .