Cameron ‘disappointed’ over regional cricket heads’ comments

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President Dave Cameron
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By Carlena Knight

It has been three weeks since Former Cricket West Indies (CWI) President Dave Cameron announced his plans in running to fill the position of International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman, but according to him, he has yet to receive any response from the CWI.

Cameron said that a request was made to the board for him to present his case and gain their support, but up until this moment, he has not received an official response.

“I have not been given an opportunity, I wrote to the President [Ricky Skerritt] asking him for support, and he would be aware of, I hope, aware of all the papers and positions that we had as an organisation that we would have presented to the ICC. I got a response that he has seen it, but to date, I have not received any response. My understanding is that he suggested that this is the duty for him to choose whomever the CWI supports,” said Cameron.

It has been no secret that many of the region’s cricketing heads have no interest in throwing their support behind Cameron.

Already we have heard comments from Vice President of the CWI, Dr Kishore Shallow, and TTCB Head, Azim Bassarath, that they are not interested in backing Cameron. Bassarath went on to call the entire campaign a “laughable matter,” and that he doesn’t think “anybody in the Caribbean will take that seriously.”

Instead, it is being suggested that the regional cricket board will throw its support behind outgoing English and Wales Cricket Board chief, Colin Graves, as he and CWI President, Ricky Skerritt, have a longstanding friendship.

This, Cameron shared, is quite disappointing for him.

“I am disappointed obviously, having led the Cricket West Indies (CWI) for six years very successfully. When you look back at my tenure it’s fair to say I reformed the landscape. I heard Prime Ministers on the line congratulating the team last week for doing so well in England and all of that, [but] this didn’t happen overnight. These are systems that started six, seven, even ten years ago. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how we Caribbean people operate. We don’t support each other, and so it is consistent with our behaviour. I really hope that as we go forward, we will mature.”

Since announcing his interest in the top position, Cameron has been holding conversations with several members of the world’s cricketing boards, and has already earned the backing of the US body. Despite that, he admitted that his chances remain slim.

“I understood that when I went in. Again, if I can bring about some short of change or understanding to this whole process and to what’s happening in world cricket, then me being nominated or being in the race would be worth it. Even the fact that my name has been called in the conversation, I am deeply honoured by that, that people around the world would even think that I would be capable of being Chairman of the ICC.

“My chances are very steep, however I have some support because people within the ICC understand what I stand for. I am very consistent and transparent,” he added.  

 Although India’s Shashank Manohar was down as ICC chairman earlier this month, there is no official word on a date for elections, but there is speculation that the elections could take place as early as the last week in July. Until then, deputy chairman, Imran Khwaja, formerly of the Singapore Cricket Association, has stepped in as the interim chairman.

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