Dalton Myers | Where did it go wrong for Cameron?

On the eve of Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) annual general meeting (AGM), the incumbent Dave Cameron indicated that he could not lose the election. Cameron was going for a fourth consecutive two-year stint as president but eventually lost to former Windies team manager Richard ‘Ricky’ Skerritt 8-4 at The Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston. The irony here is that Cameron, a Jamaican, lost in his home town and didn’t get the support of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA).

I have explained several times that I thought Cameron had a positive impact on West Indies cricket in several areas. He sought to professionalise the sport in the region and improved the retainer contract systems for senior men and women cricketers. The relationship with the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) improved significantly for many reasons, and he also sought to improve the coaching programmes in the region. Under Cameron, the Windies won three ICC World titles and hosted the first-ever standalone ICC Women’s T20. There were significant efforts to rebrand CWI in an attempt to make it attractive to investors. Importantly, he established a physical home for CWI, which is now located in Antigua.

So where did it go wrong for Cameron? The crucial vote, whether we like it or not, was that of the JCA, which did not go his way, and not for the first time, either. This time, however, there was no uproar from the local members. in 2015, the members voted 67-22 to overturn the JCA board decision not to support Cameron and even sought to move a no-confidence motion against president Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven. This time, Heaven has way more support, and there has been hardly a whisper in Jamaica about JCA’s vote.

While Cameron has been successful in my mind, he has somehow managed to build up an army of harsh, persistent critics. These include current and immediate past players, with former captains Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo leading that group. Several West Indies legends have also come out against Cameron, including former Chairman of Selectors Clive Lloyd and stalwarts such as Sir Viv Richards. He has locked horns with two members of academia in Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Sir Hilary Beckles and Principal of The UWI, Cave Hill campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau. Then there’s the clash with the CARICOM Subcommittee on Cricket Governance, led by Dr Keith Mitchell with support from other CARICOM leaders Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Dr Keith Rowley.

Importantly, there had been criticism of CWI (previously the West Indies Cricket Board) prior to and during Cameron’s tenure of shelving any external report related to the organisation without implementing the recommendations. These include the Anthony Luck Report 2004, the P.J. Patterson Report 2007, the Charles Wilkins Report 2012 and the Eudine Barriteau CARICOM Report 2015. These mostly focused on governance issues within the organisation. To be fair to Cameron, he has insisted that his board had taken steps to improve the body’s governance, amongst other things.

We cannot forget the Indian tour debacle in 2014, as well as the removal of coaches Ottis Gibson and Phil Simmons from their respective duties. Additionally, there was the instance of members of the CWI medical committee resigning because of reported issues of having “some difficulties in carrying out their responsibilities”.

For now, there is no more Cameron, with the new team being led by former St Kitts and Nevis Tourism Minister Ricky Skerritt and St Vincent and the Grenadines cricket boss Dr Kishore Shallow. Skerritt will have a lot of catching up to do. Cricket in the West Indies is dying slowly, and without significant improvement, it may reach a point of no return. I know he has his 10-point plan, but the development of young talent must take priority. The closure of the former Sagicor High Performance Centre has been criticised. Now, implementing a structure to develop and hone the skills of players is paramount.

I hope the new board knows that getting a celebration party from regional prime ministers does not mean their direct interference should be allowed. There is a reason sport strives to be protected from political intrusion. For the sake of cricket, I really hope that the new president will be successful. The people of the region still love the beautiful game, but many have given up. This region needs it.

Dalton Myers is a sports consultant and administrator. Email feedback to daltonsmyers@gmail.com or tweet @daltonsmyers