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Pitted against just one challenger, former West Indies team manager Ricky Skerritt, Cameron lost by a 8-4 margin after the elections were conducted through a secret ballot on Sunday

Nagraj Gollapudi25-Mar-2019Dave Cameron’s controversial reign as the Cricket West Indies president has finally come an end after six years. Pitted against just one challenger, former West Indies team manager Ricky Skerritt, Cameron lost by an 8-4 margin after the elections were conducted through a secret ballot on Sunday.Emmanuel Nanthan, who was also standing for a fourth term as Cameron’s deputy, was beaten by the same margin by Kishore Shallow, an entrepreneur and president of the St Vincent & The Grenadines Cricket Association. Both Skerritt, who is 62, and Shallow, 35, are also CWI directors.Cameron had to swallow the embarrassment of defeat on home turf – he is understood to have moved the CWI annual general meeting to Jamaica. The turnaround might have come as a shock for Cameron, who was part of the CWI for 17 years, and took charge as board president in March 2013 replacing Julien Hunte, before which he was a vice-president of the board. Cameron served in the president’s seat for three terms.Incidentally, when the nominations for the elections were closed on February 24, Cameron and Nanthan were nominated twice: by the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control (WICBC) and seconded by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), with the second hand of backing coming from his native Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), subsequently seconded by the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA).The opposition camp of Skerritt and Shallow were nominated by the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) and seconded by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB).ESPNcricinfo understands that before the elections began on Sunday, one of the two representatives from TTCB raised a motion to conduct the voting through a secret ballot. It received majority support, thus deepening the mystery over who exactly voted for Cameron or Skerritt.Each of the six territorial boards (JCA, BCA, WICB, LICB, TTCB and GCA) had two votes each, and the votes can be cast by two representatives nominated by each of the territorial boards.In a brief statement issued by CWI, both Skerritt and Shallow said they were “humbled” by the victory. While Skerritt said the new administration would “pledge to work for improvement on and off the field for West Indies cricket”, Shallow claimed the change of guard was a “victory for West Indies cricket”.Dave Cameron (L) and Emmanuel Nanthan, the outgoing CWI president and vice-president•CWI Media

On February 21, Skerritt announced his intention to challenge the Cameron administration, motivated primarily to nip the latter’s plan to “implement sweeping changes to the democratic process of decision-making” in Caribbean cricket. Skerritt said Cameron’s desire to take “executive control” was “troubling”.”His desire to lead CWI as a full-time executive, is not reflective of the West Indies cricket ethos,” Skerritt and Shallow had said in an inaugural email to launch their campaign. “By advancing his plans for an autocratic leadership structure, which marginalises the role of commercially recruited executives, the incumbent has placed his personal thinking diametrically opposed to the values of West Indies cricket.”In their manifesto, Skerritt and Shallow also stated that they would propose capping the tenure of the CWI presidency to a maximum of six years. “I am convinced that a presidential term limit will remove much of the uncertainty and anxiety caused by the cricket politics and excesses that too often surround the office of president,” Shallow had said at the time.In a parting note, issued by CWI, Cameron and Nanthan noted the board members had “trusted” them to “safeguard” the West Indies team, “the region’s most valuable asset”.Listing some of their achievements, the pair said they were “happy” to be leaving having handed contracts to 123 players, creating a “home” for the board at Coolidge Cricket Grounds in Antigua, overseeing West Indies men’s team winning the recent Test series against England at home and the “world championships” which included the twin men’s World T20s titles which Darren Sammy’s team won in 2012 and 2016 as well as the women’s World T20 and Under-19 World Cup in 2016.”More than anything else we have a fit youthful team that is prepared to face the world,” Cameron and Nanthan said in the statement.It remains to be seen, though, whether the players, especially some of the senior ones like Sammy, would agree with Cameron’s self-appraisal. Sammy is among several senior West Indies players who have had fallouts with Cameron. The biggest player revolt against Cameron took place in 2014 when Dwayne Bravo and his squad decided to abandon the tour of India over contractual disputes with CWI.Cameron also played a big role in the suspension and eventual sacking of head coach Phil Simmons in 2016 under controversial circumstances. Simmons, who is currently Afghanistan coach, has claimed damages worth more than US $300,000. Simmons said he was seeking damages for constructive dismissal.More recently, Cameron played a big hand in getting Richard Pybus as the interim head coach at least until August, a period that encompasses the 2019 World Cup and India’s visit to the Caribbean. His appointment came in the wake of Stuart Law leaving the position last December, despite his contract being till the upcoming World Cup, which will be held from May to July.Pybus, who was West Indies’ high-performance director, has never been popular in the Caribbean, with former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes publicly asking Cameron whether the job had been advertised.

They had one win from three matches coming into the game and the captain – despite a bad injury – stepped up to deliver another

The Report by Danyal Rasool01-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

In a nutshell

Darren Sammy doesn’t need to lift a finger to guarantee his place on the immortality shelf as far as the Pakistan Super League was concerned. But the Peshawar captain’s heroics, hobbling out to bat on one leg, ensured he has taken pride of place on that shelf for the foreseeable future.Sammy hammered 16 off only four balls and propelled his side to a victory they looked to have all but squandered. Chasing 142, Peshawar had seemed on course for much of the innings, led by a disciplined – if a little sedate – 54-run partnership between Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Hafeez. But with 35 required off the last five, the partnership was broken, and suddenly the chase went into disarray. The equation turned very quickly turned into 16 off the last 7 when Sammy, who was injured while bowling, dragged himself out to the crease.It turned out his devastating physical power was undiminished, as he smashed two sixes off his first two balls, before a straight drive in the final over saw Peshawar clinch victory with two balls to spare.Quetta Gladiators will rue an innings that kept stuttering at crucial points, beginning with a disappointing Powerplay, before Shane Watson hit Mohammad Asghar for three sixes in an over to breathe some life into his side. He hit five sixes in a 32-ball 47, but after he was dismissed, no one apart from Rilee Rossouw was able to kick on, with 19-year old seamer Sameen Gul – in for an injured Hasan Ali – enjoying a stellar debut. Wahab Riaz was at his all too infrequent best, bowling yorkers at up to 150 kph and preventing Quetta from teeing off in the death overs. It turned out every one of those runs saved made a massive difference.

Where the match was won

Sammy will grab the headlines, and well he might, but in the wake of the defeat, Quetta will want to look at a strange approach to their batting Powerplay. Gul and Umaid Asif were opening the bowling for Peshawar – hardly repositories of experience. If Watson and Asad Shafiq, both of whom have been around the block, had taken the attack to them with only two fielders out, it might have tested the young bowlers’ temperament a bit more. Gul and Asif’s eight overs went for only 38 runs and fetched two wickets too, but in truth, they were allowed to settle into rhythm. By seven overs, Quetta had scored only 33 runs. That wouldn’t be par for any course, but on this Sharjah strip with the small boundaries, it was bound to cost them.

The men that won it

One would be hard-pressed to look past Peshawar’s talismanic captain here. After Mohammad Asghar had been smashed for 21 runs by Shane Watson in the eighth over, Sammy – a reluctant bowler these days – decided he would have a spell. He got rid of Umar Amin in his first over, and all told, his figures read 2.4-0-21-2. He was forced off by a calf injury, but he had made a massive contribution in keeping the Gladiators below 150.For all of his, and everyone else’s good work, though, it looked like the defending champions had bottled it at the end. The boundaries had been drying up perniciously, and suddenly 7 per over became 22 off the last two, with no experienced, specialist batsmen remaining. It was uncertain whether Sammy would come out to bat, and when he finally did to front up, it looked like a daft idea. The man could barely walk, scoring at over two runs per ball against Rahat Ali and Anwar Ali was rarely the preserve of able-bodied cricketers. However, two sixes and a four later, every jaw in Sharjah had dropped, and another chapter embellishing Sammy in the PSL had swiftly been written.Anwar Ali’s rotten dayWahab was at his fearsome best at the death, and Anwar Ali can’t have been looking forward to facing him in the 20th over. But first up, Wahab bowled one right in the slot, and the lower-order batsman caught it clean in the middle of the bat. It sailed over the boundary for six, briefly raising hopes of a strong finish. But unbeknownst to most, Anwar’s heel had nudged off stump, and one of the bails shuffled in its slot before popping out, a brilliant flash of electronic red the tell-tale sign. The importance of every run in this nail-biting game would not have been lost on Anwar, particularly after Sammy smashed him for a six and a four in the final over to wrench victory from his side.

Where they stand

Quetta and Peshawar each have two wins in four after today’s breathless finish, and sit third and fourth on the table respectively, separated only by net run-rate.

A round-up of the Regional 4 Day Tournament matches that were played between December 16-19

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2016Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the game’s only centurion, set up Guyana’s 10-wicket win over Trinidad & Tobago in Providence. His 143, coupled with left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul’s match haul of nine wickets arrested Guyana’s three-match winless streak, taking them close to the top spot.T&T managed only 162 in the first innings after winning the toss – courtesy Permaul’s 4 for 30 and Raymon Reifer’s 3 for 34 – before Chanderpaul struck his second century in as many games. He came in when Guyana were 94 for 3 and added 141 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Leon Johnson, whose 69 was the second-highest score of the match. Chanderpaul followed that up with an 89-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Reifer (38) as Guyana posted 378. Imran Khan’s legbreak fetched him four wickets.Trailing by 216, T&T’s batsmen showed little resistance in their second innings against Permaul after a brief second-wicket stand of 93 between opener Kyle Hope (40) and Isaiah Rajah (63). Permaul troubled the lower order and T&T soon slipped from 208 for 5 to 235 all out, to set Guyana a target of only 20 runs.Openers Shimron Hetmyer (17*) and Rajendra Chandrika (4*) took just 16 balls to complete the win. The 42-year old Chanderpaul was named the Player of the Match.Only 74.4 overs were bowled in Dominica as persistent rain breaks meant the fixture between third-placed Barbados and fourth-placed Windward Islands ended in a draw.Barbados captain Kevin Stoute was the match’s only half-centurion after they were asked to bat. He scored an unbeaten 50 after they were reduced to 118 for 6. His knock came on the fourth day after only 82.4 overs were bowled in the game’s first three days. Barbados declared on 200 for 8 while Windward Islands’ Mervin Matthew took four wickets.Windward Islands batted for 11 overs, which saw openers Devon Smith (14*) and Tyrone Theophile (27*) remain unbeaten, scoring 42 together before play ended.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that the “scourge of overage players” in Indian junior cricket is no different to “fixing and corruption.”

Nagraj Gollapudi in Delhi01-Dec-2015Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that the “scourge of overage players” in Indian junior cricket is no different to “fixing and corruption”. Delivering the fourth MAK Pataudi Memorial lecture in Delhi, Dravid said age-fudging was a “toxic” exercise and a “loophole” that could only be covered up if the BCCI and state associations regulated the privately-run academies and made it mandatory for players to submit valid birth certificates.”I think of this overage business as dangerous and even toxic and to me, gives rise to a question: If a child sees his parents and coaches cheating and creating a fake birth certificate, will he not be encouraged to become a cheat? He is being taught to lie by his own elders,” Dravid said to a gathering which included former Indian captains Sunil Gavaskar, Bishen Singh Bedi, Ajit Wadekar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Anil Kumble and the Indian and South African squads. “At 14, it may be in the matter of the age criteria, at 25 it may be fixing and corruption. How are the two different in any way? In both cases, is it not blatant cheating?”During the course of a speech that lasted exactly half an hour, Dravid felt a player’s support system – parents and his coach – agree to age-fudging even with the risk of being found out. A factor of even greater concern, according to him, was that a promising young player who meets the proper criteria misses out.”Like the issue of bowling actions, it is a similar emphasis on short-term results that has led to the scourge of overage players in junior matches,” Dravid explained. “That entire exercise begins when a coach alters a player’s date of birth so that he can take part in a local tournament. The parents are happy to accept the value of an extra year or two, particularly in junior cricket and, academically at middle school.”The truth is that the player who has faked his age might make it at the junior level not necessarily because he is better or more talented, but because he is stronger and bigger. We all know how much of a difference a couple of years can make at that age. That incident will have another ripple effect: an honest player deprived of his place by an overage player, is disillusioned. We run the risk of losing him forever.”Dravid held nothing back and called these overaged players “guilty.” He then praised the BCCI for conducting bone density tests to eradicate the problem, and suggested that the board and every state association maintain a record of valid birth certificates for each player in a central database.”It is not that nothing has been done to identify the guilty – and I do think of them as guilty,” Dravid said. “Like, in the KSCA, a child’s birth certificate is valid only if it is dated within two years of the child’s birth. The BCCI’s bone density test is an excellent introduction, but even if it discovers that a child wanting to play in an Under-16 competition doesn’t meet the stipulated criteria, there is nothing done to ensure that the child’s birth date is reviewed or corrected so that he doesn’t slip through the system and turn up as a 20-year-old trying to get into an Under-19 tournament after a few years.”Dravid said another option was to provide licenses to the numerous privately-run academies around the country. “How can we work through this loophole? Those minimum standards guidelines to academies that I spoke about earlier, perhaps could also state a demand that academies need to collect birth certificates of every aspiring young cricketer and have it recorded into the larger state association database of registered players.”Serious in tone and delivery, the major part of Dravid’s speech, or in his own words “a lecture” dealt with how the administrators and others involved with the game needed to keep future generations interested in cricket.”I strongly believe that these young kids are the first generation of Indians who could be growing up without a deep personal connection to the game,” he said. “Today’s children have many, many other options. They will grow up to be the thought leaders and opinion makers and fund managers. It is why Indian cricket must reintroduce its children to the game and its magic all over again. They are a very, very serious audience.”At the outset Dravid declared that he was a modern-day parent. He has two young children, one of whom has just started playing age-group cricket. He is also the India A and Under-19 coach.Calling himself a post-1983 World Cup generation kid, for whom cricket and cinema were the two preferred leisure activities, Dravid said that for today’s generation cricket did not hold the same appeal, and was not their first game of choice. “The generation when every Indian baby is born with a cricket bat in the hand is well behind us,” he said.The reason Dravid chose this topic for the MAK Pataudi lecture was, “I believe in it passionately – that we need to invest as much energy, time and focus into India’s youngest cricketers as we do for those at the elite level.”

Matt Prior has increasingly been hailed as England’s ultimate team man, but for once he is celebrating an individual achievement. Prior has been named as England’s cricketer of the year

David Hopps13-May-2013Matt Prior has increasingly been hailed as England’s ultimate team man, but for once he is celebrating an individual achievement. Prior has been named as England’s cricketer of the year and received his award at a celebratory dinner in the Long Room at Lord’s.It was fitting that a player who symbolises the importance of the common cause should look slightly guilty about receiving the award. “It was fantastic when I found out, a huge honour to be singled out as player of the year,” he said. “But I feel slightly uncomfortable with it because individual accolades are not really the reason I play. I want this team to win. I get much more out of the group winning a Test or series.”Prior, the first wicketkeeper to win the award, judged by members of the England cricket media, likes the idea that it is in some way recognition of his team ethic.”I hope so although I’ve not really given it much thought. What I would say is anytime I go out to play an innings the first thing I need to do is to get into the best position to win or save a game, or think what do I need to do to get the scoreboard in the right place, rather than how many runs do I need to average 50 – I can’t just perform like that.”There have been times in the past where people have said you need to look after that bit, or get more not-outs, I just can do it. I’m not saying I’m the ultimate team player; it’s just the way I play sport – to win. That’s where I get the enjoyment from.”There were many persuasive reasons to vote for Prior as England’s player of the year. The most emotional justification arose from memories of his defiant hundred in Auckland to save the third Test against New Zealand and salvage a drawn series.But there were broader reasons, too. There was the knowledge that he is the only England batsman apart from the captain, Alastair Cook, to average more than 50 in Tests in the past two years. There was the recognition that his wicketkeeping has improved by leaps and bounds – sometimes quite literally – under the tuition of a former England wicketkeeper Bruce French.Mostly, though, it was his reputation as England’s heartbeat that won him the accolade ahead of other deserving claimants such as Alastair Cook, for the remorseless run scoring that turned the India Test series, and James Anderson, skilful and indefatigable, a fast bowler at his peak as he proved that he could bowl in the most discouraging circumstances.

Hat-trick for Brunt

• Katherine Brunt was named as England Women’s Cricketer of the Year. Brunt won the award for a third time following a year in which she proved to be England’s most consistent bowler, picking up 12 wickets in the Women’s World Cup campaign in India.

• Ben Foakes, the Essex and England U-19 wicketkeeper-batsman, won the England Development Programme Cricketer of the Year award. Foakes was England’s leading run-scorer at the U-19 World Cup in Australia last summer, toured India with the Performance Programme squad last winter and Australia with England Lions.

• The Disability Cricketer of the Year was Matthew Dean from England’s Visually Impaired squad. Dean, from Welling in Kent, was the team’s leading run scorer in last winter’s T20 World Cup for the Blind in India, contributing 490 runs at an average of more than 80.

Prior looked mildly stunned. “You look back on the year and look at the amount of quality in the dressing room,” he said. “Jimmy Anderson’s performance in India: for a seam bowler to perform like he did was phenomenal – that’s worth a player of the year award. Cooky: the way he led from the front in India. There are a number of guys who have put in huge performances. They’ve obviously just pulled a name out of the hat, so I’m hugely honoured but it could have been a number of guys.”But it was much more than a name out of a hat. magazine did not just stop at describing Prior as England’s “heartbeat”. In this month’s issue, they hailed him as the team’s moral compass, the protector of their spirit, a dressing room confidant, and a tactician and cheerleader – as vice-captain, he offers a more instinctive, noisier flavour to Cook’s reflective and conservative approach.He was also the player who phoned Kevin Pietersen, when the extent of his stand-off with the England dressing room became known – ignoring the political niceties at the time and relying instead on a faith in the team ethic and a few home truths. He is embarrassed that his call has passed into English cricket folklore – after all, he just picked up the phone and said what he thought – but, not to put too fine a point on it, it cut the crap and English cricket was all the better for it.His continued omission from England’s one-day side, and memories of his sudden dropping from England’s Test side in 2008, have taught him not to overreact to the plaudits that now, more than ever, will come his way.”Not playing ODIs certainly keeps you fresh,” he said. “I’ve said before that it’s a bit of a catch-22, the whole matter of playing one-day cricket or not. From a positive point of view it gives me these windows of opportunity to fully prepare for each Test series. Not just from a physical point of view, but also mentally being able to switch off.”Also you can prepare completely on each team you are up against. That certainly allows me to go into each Test series at 100%, giving it everything until the last ball then duck out again and have a few weeks riding a bicycle.”These days, he gets equal satisfaction from wicketkeeping and batting. If his hundred in Auckland is understandably his sharpest batting memory of the year, his catch, standing up to Jonathan Trott, to dismiss New Zealand’s captain, Brendon McCullum, in the same Test was also a source of great satisfaction, proof of how much his game has advanced.”It was only two or three weeks beforehand that I had been working with Frenchy away from everyone, having arguments about whether we should do it this way or whether that way will help you. Frenchy got his way, which I hate to admit, and suddenly I got that catch. When you do the work, put that extra time to gain one, two, three percent and you see it work in the middle it’s hugely fulfilling.”There has been a lot of stuff said. It’s a fickle world, if I punch one on Thursday I’ll be rubbish again. Everyone else can say their bits, I’ll just concentrate on catching as many balls as I can and keep working hard. In years to come, when hopefully I’ve played a few more years and caught a few more catches we can see where I sit.”He loves Lord’s, where this summer gets underway against New Zealand on Thursday, and can smile now at the dressing room window he accidentally smashed two years ago as he fumed over being run out in a Test against Sri Lanka as England chased quick runs for a declaration on the final day.”I love this ground: home of cricket, to drive in and get your little spot next to the window. They’ve safeguarded it: double-glazed, smash-proof, it’s all good. I’m allowed back in that corner. It feels like coming home.”

How quickly this game can change. West Indies started the fourth day searching for a way to turn their dominance into a victory. They ended it hoping to avoid defeat

The Report by Brydon Coverdale10-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBen Hilfenhaus picked up three wickets in the first five overs of West Indies’ second innings•AFP

How quickly this game can change. West Indies started the fourth day searching for a way to turn their dominance into a victory. They ended it hoping to avoid defeat. In between, Ryan Harris led an outstanding tail-end fightback from Australia that allowed Michael Clarke to make a bold declaration from behind, a decision that was justified when Ben Hilfenhaus scythed through the top three West Indies batsmen in the first five overs of their second innings.As tea approached, it was hard to tell who was wobblier, the West Indies batsmen or the rummies in Kensington Oval’s Party Stand. At least the spectators had an excuse for their lack of stability. Clarke’s declaration gave West Indies half an hour to bat before the break and when it arrived they were 4 for 3. Australia’s last three pairs had just added 156 runs between them. It was about as disastrous a period as West Indies could have endured.In a few crazy hours, all the hard work the hosts had done over the first three days evaporated. By stumps, they had steadied a little, but only a little, and they finished the day at 71 for 5, with Narsingh Deonarine on 20 and Carlton Baugh on 2. It meant West Indies held a slim lead of 114 runs and with only five wickets in hand, they still needed a solid batting performance on the fifth morning to prevent the Australians chasing a small target.The pitch had started to show some variable bounce but after the way their tail-enders batted, Australia would fancy their chances of chasing a target of around 200. For West Indies, much rested on the shoulders of Deonarine, a man with a point to prove after he was told by the coach Ottis Gibson he was on probation having been recalled to the side for the first time in nearly two years.