By Neto Baptiste
President of the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) and former national cricketer, Enoch Lewis, has said that both the body and himself are equally concerned over the fact that Antiguan and Leeward Islands cricketer, Shawnisha Hector, is no longer contracted by Cricket West Indies (CWI).
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Lewis said that after realising the all-rounder was not included on CWI’s list of contracted players in June, he had immediately reached out to a number of individuals regarding the decision.
“I am very concerned and I had that discussion at the appropriate level and they gave me an explanation as to why and so on which I prefer not to disclose because that discussion would have been held with her as well as to exactly what needs to happen and so on, because my understanding is that when contracts are not renewed, discussions are held with all the parties to let them know what the situation is,” he said.
“From the Leeward Islands standpoint, I had a chat with the chairman of selectors as to why, because I saw the name and I saw the omission and so I made it my business to have that conversation …… and let’s just say work ethics generally, was a concern,” he added.
Hector, in a recent interview with OBSERVER media, revealed she is no longer on a CWI development contract. The player said she has however been working towards improvement.
Lewis said that although the Leeward Islands board is not directly involved with the player’s training, they continue to monitor her progress.
“I know she is doing work now with a little group out at New Winthorpes and it is not being paid for by Leeward Islands, but we encourage her to continue to do the work. We keep close enough to the situation to ensure that she continues to work but we don’t have anything formal that we have actually set up for her as an individual to further develop the skills,” he said.
“I know that she is surrounded right now by competent people so in terms of her ongoing development, I feel confident it is working and I feel that what she is doing right now will further enhance her skillset,” he added.
Hector became the first Antiguan to play for the West Indies women’s team after making her debut on November 1, 2019 here at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.