September 25 Wednesday 2002
Tight security irks West Indians

COLOMBO: The West Indies cricket team has asked for police guards to be withdrawn following a row over women guests in hotel rooms of players during the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, officials said on Tuesday.

Police, however, refused to pull out their men assigned to guard the West Indians, insisting the safety of the team was their responsibility unless the International Cricket Council (ICC) called for a withdrawal. "Our brief is to provide security to the team as well as to enforce the access control guidelines set out by the ICC as part of efforts to crack down on match-fixing," a senior police officer said.

The West Indies team told police that since they were knocked out of the tournament there was no need to have security for them. Carl Hooper's men are booked at the deluxe Taj Samudra hotel till October 1 when they leave for India for a seven-week tour. The ICC sought police protection for all teams taking part not so much to protect players, but as a safeguard against match-fixing.

West Indies manager Rickey Skerritt on Monday accused police bodyguards of "high-handed and authoritative" behaviour after a move to crack down on women entering hotel rooms of players. Police said in a letter to the ICC that three women were found in the rooms of Skerritt and his computer operator, Garfield Smith, in violation of the strict ICC access control rules.

The Champions Trophy, featuring all the 10 Test-playing nations and minnows Kenya and Holland, has reached the semifinal stage for which Australia, India, South Africa and hosts Sri Lanka have qualified.