FCB award for WI ‘Player of Year’

FORMER top regional legspinner Dinanath Ramnarine has been the president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) for just two years. However he is leaving a legacy in the organisation that would be hard to match by those privileged to succeed him. On Tuesday, Ramnarine announced that for the first time in the 16-year history of WIPA, plans are afoot to honour top West Indies players at their annual awards function slated for March 17 at the Hilton Trinidad in Port-of-Spain. It is the first time that WIPA, whose former presidents include Deryck Murray and Courtney Walsh, will in some tangible way acknowledge the outstanding efforts of regional cricketers.

“It is WIPA’s opinion that this recognition has been an oversight or omission by past administrators,” said Ramnarine at a media function to announce the awards in the Savannah Terrace of the Hilton Trinidad. “Recognition is an important ingredient in fostering excellence and setting benchmarks and standards. We hope that the awards will inspire and motivate our cricketers,” said Ramnarine. The Caribbean is now placed on par with the more powerful and richer players’ associations in England, Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand. It was also announced that primary sponsors of the inaugural awards function will be First Citizens Bank who was represented at Tuesday’s function by their Chief Executive Officer, Larry Howai.

Through the urging of Ramnarine, other corporate entities coming on board are Trinidad Cement Limited Group of Companies, Carib Brewery and Prestige Holdings Limited. Ramnarine said the awards at stake are the FCB “Cricketer of the Year”; Carib Beer “First Class Player of the Year”; TCL “Youth cricketer of the Year”; and the KFC “Special Award” for someone who has made a significant contribution to the Caribbean game off the field of play. The WIPA president also announced that the panel of judges who are expected to meet later this week to make their choices comprises Sir Vivian Richards, Joey Carew, Gordon Greenidge, Ian Bishop, Gus Logie and Ricky Skerritt. And another feather in the cap of Ramnarine made public on Tuesday was the official launch of the WIPA website —- www.wiplayers.com. Cricket fans can also go online now and vote in the various categories. FCB’s Howai said it is the intention of the bank to continue to honour the players initially for the next two years with the option to continue their involvement.

‘I must commend the West Indies Players’ Association for the vision and the devotion they have shown for the sport and I am assured that this initiative will play a significant role in contributing to the ongoing development of the our players,” Howai said. Alan Nobie, Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications of the TCL Group, congratulated the Caribbean Under-19 cricketers for the recent second place in the World Cup in Bangladesh. TCL undertook sponsorship of the Under-19s last year, and Nobie on Tuesday underlined the group’s commitment to “using their regional resources to further promise the synergy between West Indies cricket and the group’s philosophy on issues such as regional integration and excellence in performance.” Nigel Bissoon, Marketing Manager of Prestige Holdings, parent company of KFC also complimented WIPA while lamenting the recent passing away of Lester Armoogam, who was dubbed the greatest supporter of West Indies cricket. “We are convinced that the West Indies Players’ Association need to be complimented on recognising the fact that as developing societies in the region, we need to remember and honour those whose contributions have helped to develop the game to the point where it has reached today,” Bissoon said.

He said at next week’s function KFC will be honouring the late Armoogam, a Princes Town contractor. “No one epitomised the spirit of West Indies cricket more than ‘Uncle Les’ whose support of the team was unwavering ... who was there through thick and thin, through the good and the bad and who truly rallied ‘round the West Indies’,” said Bissoon. Colin Murray, Public Relations Manager of Carib Brewery praised WIPA on their initiative saying it was long overdue as other countries have been recognising the achievements of their players for many years. “Congratulations to the West Indies Players’ Association for their foresight and we encourage them to continue their good work,” said Murray on Tuesday.