Rodney Bay, St. Lucia – The first face-to-face meeting of the Windward Islands Cricket Board (WICB) since the onset of the pandemic saw the installation of two new selectors, the re-election of the president, and other new appointments.
At the WICB Annual General Meeting, hosted at Bay Gardens Marina Haven, St. Lucia, on July 16, 2021, former Windward Islands captain, Liam Sebastien, and former first-class player, Craig Emmanual replaced Trevor Shillingford and Greg Wilson as selectors. Steve Mahon was re-appointed to chair the selection panel, with Roland Wilkinson being the other member. The selectors’ first assignment will observe three Best vs. Best ‘red ball’ matches in Grenada from July 18 to July 30, 2021.
In an unopposed election, Dr. Kishore Shallow was re-elected to continue to lead what is deemed the “New Windwards”. The election also saw Dwain Gill going unopposed and replacing the long-serving Julian Charles as Vice President.
The new VP on his election said, “I am pleased with the confidence exhibited by my colleagues in me to take over the responsibility of vice presidency from Julian, who has served Windwards Cricket with passion and pride over the years.”
Gill will also continue as CWI Director for Windward Islands and will be joined in that capacity by current St. Lucia National Cricket Association president Mr. Carol Henry. Mr. Romel Currency and Mr. Clement Marcellin were elected alternate directors for one year, while Mr. Kezron Walters, and Mr. Dougal James were re-elected Secretary and Treasurer, respectively.
The meeting also received a comprehensive proposal from the Cricket Development Committee, chaired by Miles Bascombe. The proposal promotes an integrated skill-based data-centric framework for cricket development in the Windward Islands. This comprises Data Centralization and Accessibility, Skills testing and benchmarking, Coaching development, and Elite player programs.
Other pertinent outputs from the meeting were:
- The approval by the board to explore a Windwards T10 tournament this year
- A vaccination policy for players, administrators, and other traveling functionaries of the WICB
- Approval for the formation of a committee to conduct a further Constitutional review with a view towards updating and modernizing the WICB constitution
- A mandate for the completion and presentation of the Strategic Plan by the next board meeting
- A mandate to honor retired players and administrators for their sterling contributions to Windwards Cricket
