Statement Of New WICB President Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron
I am most humbled, happy and feel very blessed to be elected to lead this most august body that is the West Indies Cricket Board.
Newly elected WICB President Whycliffe 'Dave' Cameron and Vice President Emmanuel Nanthan. Photo: WICB Media photo/Randy Brooks
It was a long process and I travelled the length and breadth of the Caribbean, from Kingston, Jamaica to Georgetown, Guyana to be able to address the concerns of our stakeholders.
I thank the shareholders for having placed their confidence in me and Vice President His Excellency Ambassador Emmanuel Nanthan and I congratulate him on his election to office. I wish to thank Dr. Julian Hunte for his yeoman service to West Indies Cricket and his leadership of the Board for the past six years.
I look forward to serving the shareholders and all stakeholders in this new capacity to the best of my ability and hope that I live up to the expectation of those who have placed their trust and confidence in me and all the stakeholders of West Indies Cricket.
As we take over the reins of the WICB, we assume responsibility with very lofty goals in our minds and the understanding of the reason we are here and what everybody in the region is looking forward to us being able to accomplish.
In my presentations to the territorial boards, I spoke about building on our immense talent, increasing the revenues in the sport and, above all, uniting the region through the game of cricket.
West Indies cricket stirs up great passion in the region – from the man in the street to the Prime Ministers – and we take on this huge responsibility of rebuilding West Indies Cricket.
We must find creative way of dealing with the challenges that will confront us from time to time.
Most critically I look forward to the support of the international, regional and local players, the territorial boards, the Board of Directors, the management and staff, sponsors, the media and the public as we join hands in continuing the work to transform West Indies Cricket and move it forward.
Statement Of New WICB Vice President Emmanuel Nanthan
I wish to first express my heartfelt thanks to out-going WICB President Dr. Julian Hunte for the tremendous job he did over the last six years, working to rebuild West Indies cricket.
He is my friend and has been for a number of years. He is to me a hero, coming from the Windward Islands, and I am proud of the way he presided over the WICB during a difficult time and now the baton has been passed on.
Special thanks must be extended to Dr. Hunte’s wife, his family and the people of St. Lucia for the support they have provided to him, which enabled the WICB to turn the corner and move things along.
I am fortunate to be part of the new team chosen to advance the development of West Indies cricket. In accepting the baton, what I believe we are offering are two fresh pairs of legs to continue the work, so that one day we too, can pass on the baton to someone else to take the game that we all love and cherish further forward in this region.
We want to thank the members of the WICB for the confidence they have reposed in us and we also thank the directors with whom we have served for around a decade. They have all urged us to move forward.
We have received several messages saying the election is over, but the work has just begun.
To be able to begin this work, it will be incumbent on us to reach out to every nook and cranny in the region including the private sector to rally with us. It is not about the past, nor who won and lost this election, but bringing the people of the region together, mobilisation and strengthening behind a common cause.
We know the Caribbean well and from time to time we know there will be disagreements, but we plead with the people of the region to agree to disagree with us when this happens so that we can move forward.
We extend our hands to everyone and make ourselves available to the people of the region, as we seek to carry what is the greatest passion of the Caribbean civilization. We are honoured and privileged to be given this opportunity.
Newly elected WICB President Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron and Vice President Emmanuel Nanthan. Photo: WICB Media photo/Randy Brooks