Sport Minister Brent Sancho has endorsed former West Indies captain Brian Lara for the presidency of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Even though Lara is out of contention for Saturday's WICB elections in which incumbent president Dave Cameron is being contested by former Barbados and West Indies pacer Joel Garner, Sancho said Lara understood the needs of the team.
Speaking in Couva on Wednesday, Sancho said, "Sports has such a tainted name to it now because when you look at all the infighting that is happening in the administration, all the different bacchanal and all the stuff that are happening, it leaves a tainted name and people sometimes wonder why corporate Trinidad does not want to get involved.
"It is because when you open the back pages of the newspaper, it is always some sort of controversy and we need to move away from that... Former players are looking to get involved in administration and I think that it is the right direction for sports on the whole.
"I would definitely support him. Brian would have played all over the world he would understand what an athlete needs and I think this is a lot of what we have been missing. We need people at the helm that understand what athletes need and administrators are just a medium to get the best out of our athletes. We have to step aside and do what is necessary for them to continue to move forward."
Sancho added that although he was disappointed in the regional team's selection for the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, he still backs the team to beat India in Friday's crucial match.
?KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt