Players decision pleases Cameron

Players decision pleases Cameron

Vinode Mamchan
Published: Guardian
Tuesday, February 16, 2016

President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Dave Cameron has described the withdrawal of Darren Bravo  from the T20 World Cup tournament as unfortunate.

Bravo pulled out of the team, opting instead to  play in the regional  Professional Cricket League (PCL) four-day tournament. In a letter to the WICB, Bravo stated while he was grateful for the opportunity to represent the West Indies at the World Cup, he was of the belief that he had a big part to play in the resurgence of West Indies cricket in the longer formats and preferred to play in the PCL since it would put him in good stead to achieve the goals he set himself for 2016.

Cameron said he was disappointed with that decision but understood the player’s position. He sai that he was happy that the senior players agreed to play in the tournament and he was looking forward to a good performance.

“We are happy that our senior players have signed and we intend to support them to ensure success in India. Not just the men but most importantly our women’s team.”

Cameron said he wanted to meet with the players before the tournament but due to travelling logistics it was difficult. “We have put it out there that we welcome the opportunity to meet with all the players. I was hoping we would have had an opportunity ahead of the World Cup, but they are all leaving from different points and some are in that part of the world already.”

He said Test and ODI captain Jason Holder is at the forefront of trying to get everyone together to discuss the way forward. “We have been speaking to Jason about how we move the process forward and he has promised to facilitate a forum for us to speak.”

Cameron who is very proud of the West Indies youth team victory at the Under-19 World Cup added that now is the time for all stakeholders especially the senior players to come on board and take the cricket forward.

“This is our time—we just need to trust the process, we need to continue to be critical but not personal and things will work out well for all concerned.”

He said West Indies will have a Test team of which we can be proud in 2017. “I would like to see our best players play in our PCL, play CPL and those who can get a county contract in the UK so be it, and we have an A team tour later this year. Our PCL season begins in November 2016 and we would be ready to determine those best fit to take us forward. We need to make sure that the players will last and that they are best suited when they are introduced.”