By:Curtis Morton
President of Cricket West Indies, Mr. Whycliffe Dave Cameron, visited Nevis on Thursday 30th November.
That same evening, the regional Cricket chief, hosted a town hall meeting which was held at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church’s conference room.
There was a small but energetic gathering on hand and this may have been mainly due to the fact, that there was another major event taking place, several miles away, on the island.
At the head table, Vernon Springer effectively introduced the evening’s proceedings, which included prayer by young Carlon Tuckett.
President of the Nevis Cricket Association and Leewards Islands and Cricket West Indies Director, Denrick Liburd, then gave a quick overview of the development of the game, once again reiterating the well-known fact, that Nevis has produced no fewer than seven international players, despite the small size of the island, with Kian Pemberton, now on the horizon, as a recent under 19 team selectee.
The microphone was then handed to the man of the hour, President Cameron, who outlined the programs and policies of Cricket West Indies, in eloquent fashion.
The floor was then opened for comments or questions and quite a number of persons used the opportunity to air their views as to ways in which the administration of the beloved sport can be improved.
St. Clair ‘Sazam’ Hull started the ball a rolling, by making the point that Elquemedo Willett of Nevis, was the first Leeward Islander to make it into the West Indies Cricket team and lamented the condition of the ET Willett Park and its current inability to host regional matches.
Other presentations included a ten point plan from Pastor Ron Daniel, which alluded to proposals for the improved marketing of the Cricket West Indies brand.
His father, Hastings Daniel, for his part, congratulated President Cameron for maintaining his position at the helm of the regional body, despite the many ‘boulders hurled at him’ and indicated that his still being there was ‘nothing short of a miracle.’
He also congratulated him on keeping the regional politicians out of the administration of the sport.
Questions were also raised as to the future involvement of players such as Darren Bravo and Darren Sammy.
Other issues raised included the development of the regional cricketers, educationally and the availability of scholarships; the varied types of cricket related jobs available; which include, umpires, video analysts, scorers, massage therapists, coaches etc and a general idea as to their remuneration.
Also on hand and serving to answer some of the questions was Mr. Johnny Grave, chief executive officer of Cricket West Indies and Mrs. Verlyn Faustin, chief operating officer and corporate Secretary for Cricket West Indies and members of the Nevis Cricket Association.
Some of the youthful cricketers on the island were also present along with Permanent Secretary responsible for Sports, Mr. Keith Glasgow and Asst. Permanent Secretary, Miss D. Michelle Liburd.