Former West Indies team manager, Ricky Skerrit is the new president of Cricket West Indies (CWI). His running mate Dr. Kishore Shallow has been elected vice-president.
Skerrit defeated the incumbent Dave Cameron, who was seeking a fourth consecutive term. Dr. Shallow, the current president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association has replaced Emmanuel Nathan, 84, as vice-president.
Both, who will serve for the next two years, were elected during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Sunday.
Cameron has expressed surprise over his defeat, saying he did not need to campaign to be reelected since he was assured that at least six of the 12 votes, as well as Jamaica. He claimed to have the support of Barbados, Guyana and the Windward Islands. He was nominated by three of those countries.
Both were defeated by a vote of 8-4.
Skerrit, 62, a former minister of sports and tourism in St. Kitts and Nevis government had the support of Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands. But who were the other four territorial boards who apparently decided to change their support at the last minute? Voting was by secret ballot.
Skerrit, also expressed surprise at the margin of victory, as the election was expected to be a close battle.
“I am not sure where the eight votes came from, but I can tell you that everybody has the right to privacy with their votes. I am indeed grateful that we were able to get eight votes and that gave us more than a one-vote margin,” the new CWI president told reporters.
Cameron, who served the regional body for 17 years — six of those as president — and Nathan, who spent 15 years at the West Indies Cricket Board and CWI was vice-president for the past six years.
Cameron said in a statement: “We are glad to be able to serve and proud or our achievements. We are happy that we left 123 players under contract. West Indies cricket now has a home owned by the board at Coolidge Cricket Grounds. The World Championships and bringing back the Wisden Trophy are also other achievements that we are proud of. I am very surprised, but I just like to say thanks to the region for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket.”
