By Neto Baptiste
Given the opportunity to change one decision he would have made during his tenure as president of the West Indies Cricket Board, Dave Cameron said he would have approached the situation which led to the abandonment of the tour of India back in October of 2014 differently.
Specifically, Cameron said that in hindsight, he should have met with the players in an effort to bring more clarity to the situation.
“I would not have changed the result of it, meaning that if the players had to walk off, then fine; but I would have definitely sat with the players because the change was so significant and I didn’t recognise the impact it would have had because, at the time, we were discussing with the players association and I felt that they [the players] were sufficiently grounded and understood how impactful the changes would have been and that the players understood. So if I [were] to change anything else, it would have been that we would sat with the players and explained to them how and the severity of the impact on the transformation,” he said.
West Indies cancelled the remainder of their tour of India during the fourth match of a five-day ODI series due to a dispute over player payments. The West Indies, as part of the tour, was also scheduled to play one Twenty20 international and three Tests.
During the aftermath of the decision taken by the players, reports surfaced that the hierarchy within West Indies cricket, including Cameron, had opted not to fly to India and meet with the aggrieved players.
The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) then sought nearly US $42 million in damages in compensation.
Cameron was removed from office during elections in 2019 when he lost to Ricky Skerritt. Asked if he missed being in the role, Cameron said he has enjoyed his time away from the position thus far.
“I am having too much fun outside of it, so I don’t think I actually miss it. What I do miss is that I think we were on a path to really making cricket an industry in the region and I am not sure everything is still on track, so that’s the only thing I miss,” he said.
In 2016, India’s cricket board said it had dropped the $42 million damages claim against the West Indies after the World Twenty20 champions agreed to return in 2017.
Cameron has announced his intentions to challenge for the chairmanship of the International Cricket Council this year.