By WIPA Staff
The 5th Annual CWI/WIPA Players’ Awards
7/7/17 – Seven is said to be the number of perfection, and the 5th Annual CWI/WIPA Players’ Awards was pretty close to just that. The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel’s Negril Montego Suite housed a thrilling celebration of West Indies cricketers. The décor, the guests, the ambiance and the production all came together in a beautiful display of the partnership in an effort to celebrate West Indies cricket. The clear stand out among awardees were Roston Chase and Stafanie Taylor who both copped the two top awards, Windies Cricketer of the Year and Windies Women Cricketer of the Year.
The other awards included:
- Windies Under 19 Team of the Year
- Guyana
- Windies Under 19 Cricketer of the Year
- Joshua Bishop
- WIPA in the Community
- Kameah Cooper
- First Class Team of the Year
- Guyana
- First Class Limited Overs Cricketer of the Year
- Ashley Nurse
- First Class 4 Day Cricketer of the Year
- Roston Chase
- Caribbean T20 Cricketer of the Year
- Dwayne Bravo
- Windies Emerging Cricketer of the Year
- Roston Chase
- Windies ODI Cricketer of the Year
- Jason Holder
- Windies Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year
- Stafanie Taylor
- Windies Test Cricketer of the Year
- Roston Chase
- Windies T20 Cricketer of the Year
- Andre Russell
- Windies Women’s T20i Cricketer of the Year
- Stafanie Taylor
- Windies Foundation Award
- The Chris Gayle Foundation
- CWI Lifetime Award
- Walter Eden St John
- WIPA Lifetime Award
- Cleveland Davidson
President and CEO of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), Wavell Hinds, President of Cricket West Indies, Dave Cameron , and CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Johnny Grave, all applauded the dedication, commitment and sacrifices of the players and assured them it did not go unnoticed. Hinds highlighted players who he thought showed signs of promise and hope for the future. He also mentioned the negotiations and efforts being made to ensure that the best players take the field, highlighting the importance of working together to adapt to the new cricketing landscape. Cameron echoed these sentiments while speaking of the renewed partnership between CWI and WIPA which begun in 2014 to ensure a fair share for all players. Keynote speaker and NFL reporter, Steve Wyche, also spoke to the importance of maintaining equity, “Competition is the greatest motivator in sports; If everyone believes they will get a fair shot, then everyone will compete at a higher level.” His message to administrators was to “keep finding and developing talent to push those on your roster and maintain a culture where nothing short of great effort will be accepted.”
Guest artiste Omari Banks, former West Indies cricketer from Anguilla, turned professional musician, performed a fitting rendition of his hit “Move On” that tied perfectly into Wyche’s urge to focus far less on the history of West Indies cricket and “the way we’ve always done it” and more on the future. Wyche’s statement “If you look in the rear view mirror too long, you won’t see what’s in front of you,” was met with a rousing applause from the audience.
Congratulations to Roston Chase, Stafanie Taylor and all the other awardees, in addition to the organizers of the event from Cricket West Indies and the West Indies Players’ Association. A warm thank you to the guests, including the Indian team, former Windies cricketers and those in attendance from the present Windies squad.
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CWI CEO Johnny Grave -
CWI President Dave Cameron -
WIPA President & CEO Wavell Hinds -
Former Windies Cricketer Omari Banks -
Key Note Speaker Steve Wyche -
CWI/WIPA Cricketer of the Year Roston Chase
The West Indies Retired Players’ Foundation T20 Match
The West Indies Retired Players’ Foundation (WIRPF) T20 Match at Kensington Park on Saturday, July 8 was an event smaller in size but just as big on value. Twenty three former players including former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, and fast bowlers, Mervyn Dillon, Pedro Collin and Franklyn Rose, rolled back the years, sharing a dressing room and once again taking the field together. The match, a joint venture of CWI and WIPA saw Campbell’s XI, 110-7 (17), beating the Adam’s XI, 109 (17.4), by 3 wickets, after Adams won the toss and decided to bat.
Wavell Hinds and Franklyn Rose both top scored for the winning team with 29 runs, while Mervyn Dillon from the Adam’s XI made a thrilling 42 and took 2 wickets. Dillon seemed to be making up for the last time he was at Kensington Park when he was struck by lightening; memories he shared on the team bus on the way over to the match with great animation and much laughter.
Banks, who entertained a pretty crowded Kensington Park with two smooth renditions, was just as smooth with the bat, making a cheeky 20+ runs and taking 2 wickets, including that of good friend Wavell Hinds, a proud moment for Banks.
Guests, including cricketers who played a curtain-raiser master’s T20 match, members of the Rollington Town community and Indian fraternity, staff from CWI and WIPA, and cricket lovers from across the island, were treated to an opportunity to mingle with the former West Indies cricketers, some sharing a drink and liming with them after the match.
Thanks once again to all twenty-three former players who made the event possible. The West Indies Players’ Association looks forward to continuing to support former cricketers and creating an environment that provides benefits for all players, past and present. See you at the next event!
Signed items collected from cricketers at the match will be put up for auction in and aid of supporting the foundation. Follow WIPA’s Social Media accounts for more information on the auction date and how you can participate.
Adams XI: James Adams, Nixon Mclean, Mervyn Dillon, Courtney Browne, Travis Dowlin, Floyd Reifer, Roland Holder, Oneil Cruickshank, Wayne Lewis, Omari Banks, Keith Hibbert.
Campbell XI: Sherwin Campbell, Franklyn Rose, Pedro Collins, Junior Murray, Rawl Lewis, Cleveland Davidson, Wavell Hinds, Andrew Richardson, Matthew Sinclair, Nehemiah Perry, Delroy Morgan, (Patterson Thompson).
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Jimmy Adams XI with CWI President Dave Cameron & CWI CEO Johnny Grave -
Sherwin Campbell XI with CWI President Dave Cameron & CWI CEO Johnny Grave -
Spectators at the Kensington Cricket Club -
Teammates Pedro Collins and WIPA President & CEO Wavell Hinds -
Former Windies Cricketers and now WIPA Vice President Nixon McLean and CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams
