KINGSTON, Jamaica – Defeated Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dave Cameron and his running mate Emmanuel Nathan are hoping that the new hierarchy will build on what has been left behind.
Cameron, who served the regional body for 17 years – six of those as president – and Nathan who spent 15 years at the West Indies Cricket Board and CWI, made the call shortly after Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow defeated them 8-4 in yesterday’s elections.
According to sources close to the day's event, the final vote if yet to be confirmed, but reports suggest that Skerritt, 62, won the election after securing support from Trinidad and Tobago which nominated both Dr Shallow and him, Leeward Islands, Windward Islands and Cameron’s home nation of Jamaica. Up to the time of the election Jamaica has not hinted which team it was supporting.
Cameron is believed to have secured votes from Guyana and Barbados. Although the incumbent would not have been counting on the support of his home nation, it was previously announced that he had secured the support of the previously mentioned teams.
In a statement released by CWI, the two thanked those who supported them during their tenure.
“We were glad to be able to serve and proud of our achievements. We are happy that we left 123 players under contract. West Indies Cricket now has a home owned by the board at Coolidge Cricket Grounds. The World Championships and bringing back the Wisden Trophy are also other achievements that we are proud of. More than anything else we have a fit youthful team that is prepared to face the world,” the statement read.
However, after the vote he said, “I am very surprised, but I just like to say thanks to the region for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket, it was a tremendous run. When we came into office we found West Indies cricket in a state and I think we now leave it in a better state and we are very proud of those achievements.”
He continued: “I trusted the process that we are men of integrity and I banked on that, that we are a group on integrity and we stand for something, so that’s where I am very disappointed that men gave me their word and then went a different way.
“But that is election all around, I think we have a lot to be proud of winning back the Wisden trophy after 10 years and seeing us compete the way we did against England just now. I tell you I am very excited for West Indies cricket if we continue on this trajectory.”
“Under this team, we made significant strides and you trusted us to safeguard the region’s most valuable asset. The tenure was rewarding and full of challenges and we feel proud we have managed to take the cricket to this level.
“We anticipate the sport will move towards its true potential and we ask the new team to build upon the progress and to continue to fight for equity in world cricket,” the statement added.
We were always and will remain grateful for your support.