The annual cricket awards ceremony, jointly put on by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), will be held this evening at the Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
The third joint staging of the WICB/WIPA Awards is set to recognise outstanding players’ achievements in 2014. It will be broadcast live throughout the region on Digicel SportsMax. Cocktails are scheduled to be served at 6:00 pm.
At the launch at the Pegasus last month, the WICB President Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron and the WIPA President and Chief Executive Officer Wavell Hinds both highlighted the importance of combining the entities for the regional awards function.
There will be 12 award categories for players who have excelled in regional and international cricket. Territorial teams will also be recognised for achievements.
Batsmen Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo; allrounder Dwayne Bravo; Test captain and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin; and spinner Sulieman Benn are nominated for West Indies Player of the Year.
In the women’s equivalent, batters Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Kycia Knight; and spin bowler Anisa Mohammed are the nominees.
The WIPA and WICB will each name one recipient for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Former great West Indies cricketers who have been knighted will also get recognition and will be dubbed members of the ‘Sir’s Club’. They are Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Richard Richardson, Sir Andy Roberts, Sir Wesley Hall and Sir Curtly Ambrose.
The guest speaker at the awards function will be Sir Hall.