Aanensen

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)

Bruce Aanensen has resigned as West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive.

This was confirmed by the WICB's corporate services manager, Tony Deyal, who said the board had received Aanensen's resignation, but were scheduled to meet here tomorrow to discuss the issue.

"He has submitted his resig-nation and it now goes to the board and the board will make a decision [on whether to accept it]. They are meeting in Barbados tomorrow," Deyal told CMC Sports yesterday.

Barry Thomas, the WICB's chief financial officer, is expected to act as CEO in the interim. Aanensen is currently on vacation.

Resignation

Aanensen took up the post of CEO in February earlier this year, replacing Barbadian Roger Brathwaite, who had stepped down the previous year.

A former banker, Aanensen's resignation comes against the backdrop of recent calls from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) for him to step down.

WIPA's call was fueled by comments attributed to Aanensen where he referred to the West Indies team as 'incompetent'.

Since taking up the post as CEO, Aanensen has been involved in several clashes with WIPA. There were battles over players' contracts leading up to the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean this year and he was also involved in thedispute surrounding the England tour and whether it was a part of the ICC's Future Tours Programme.

WIPA's CEO and president, Dinanath Ramnarine, subsequently wrote in a letter to then WICB head, Ken Gordon, stating that he found it difficult to work with Aanensen and that his management style was "unfortunate and surprising for a CEO who has only recently assumed his position".

Aanensen's resignation also comes on the heels of Julian Hunte's installation as president of the WICB, last month.