CWI boss not fazed by Skerritt’s challenge

WHYCLIFFE “Dave” Cameron has brushed off the challenge of former West Indies cricket team manager Richard “Ricky” Skerritt, a day after the ex-St Kitts/Nevis Cabinet minister announced his intention to unseat the 48-year-old Cameron as president of the regional governing body Cricket West Indies (CWI).

The 62-year-old Skerritt will have as his running mate Dr Kishore Shallow, who is the president of the St Vincent/Grenadines Cricket Association. Both Skerritt and Shallow are CWI directors, and their nominations have been supported by the TT Cricket Board and the Leeward Islands Cricket Board.

The election process will take place in Jamaica on March 24, with Cameron and his deputy Emmanuel Nanthan of Dominica seeking their fourth consecutive terms at the helm of CWI.

In an interview on the Line and Length network at Kensington Oval, Barbados yesterday, during the luncheon interval of the second One Day International between the West Indies and England, Cameron said, “Ricky has always mentioned how passionate he is about West Indies cricket.

“What most of us remember Ricky for is that period when he was manager of the team, the turmoil that occurred. I’m hoping that we’ll never get back to those days.”

Cameron, who has been CWI president since 2013, was referring to an incident in his native Jamaica in 2004.

Skerritt, who was appointed as WI team manager in 2000, resigned after a ten-wicket loss to England in the First Test at Sabina Park, following a post-game incident involving members of his squad at the popular Mound Stand.

In his resignation letter to Teddy Griffith, president of the then West Indies Cricket Board, Skerritt wrote, “I regret that, despite my best efforts, I have been unable to instill in the entire team the fullest understanding of their obligations on and off the field to the people of the West Indies.”

Cameron touched on Skerritt’s desire to revamp the CWI selection panel. “What are we saying? Are we not picking the best players? We’re going to get rid of the selectors?

“I know we believe I do everything in West Indies cricket,” Cameron continued. “We have a number of committees throughout West Indies cricket, they’re all given their own respective tasks. It’s not a one-man show.”

Cameron served as vice-president to Dr Julian Hunte before replacing the St Lucian five-and-a-half years ago.

But his tenure has been highly controversial, with issues involving high-profile WI players and repeated calls from three regional Prime Ministers – Dr Keith Rowley (TT), Dr Keith Mitchell (Grenada) and Ralph Gonzalves (St Vincent/Grenadines) to revamp the CWI governing structure.

Asked about the high points during his tenure, Cameron replied, “Everybody credits us with the kind of performances of the team today. We’ve sharpened the professional league set-up. If you look at one particular item, obviously the wins in 2016 (with the WI youth team at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh and the respective men’s and women’s teams at the T20 World Cup in India). We’re in a sound financial footing.”