Willie looks forward to top Windies post

“SERVING West Indies cricket is going to be a challenge and I think I am up to it.”

This is how Willie Rodriguez one of the candidates in line to replace Rev Wes Hall as president of the West Indies Cricket Board, saw the post. Rodriguez has been nominated by the Jamaican Cricket Association headed Jackie Hendriks for the top post in regional cricket. He will have as his main challenger Guyanese Chetram Singh who has the backing of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control (TTCBC). Rodriguez had no comment to make on this, but said if he thinks he was not up to the job he would not have made himself available. “Any decision that involves wider participation is going to have certain constraints and certain benefits. What made me decide was the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket in a position that I can make a difference. “I was asked by the Jamaican cricket board and after giving it considerable thought, I decided to put myself in the fray. I felt honoured that someone recognised me and hence if selected I am looking to take the game forward in the region. “Wes has done a magnificent job and will be a hard act to follow, but having said that I am willing to give it my best shot.”

Rodriguez has been president of Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) for the past eight years. And he also heads a successful insurance agency in Trinidad and is keenly involved in sports in Trinidad and Tobago. He is one of a very few who has the distinction of playing both cricket and football for West Indies. Rodriguez was born in St Clair, Port-of-Spain, in 1934 and spent his young days playing both cricket and football at the Queen’s Park Savannah. After playing for St Mary’s College, he joined Shamrock and was a member of that team which won all the major trophies in a single year, then also went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago on the regional cricket scene before making his Test debut for the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1961/62 and toured England the same year.  He played five Tests.

Rodriguez was the manager of the ill-fated West Indies tour of New Zealand in 1979-89 when the visitors showed dissent at the umpires’ repeated mistakes and threatened to return home before the end of the series. William Vicente Rodriguez — Born: June 25 1934, St Clair, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Major Teams: Trinidad, West Indies. Known As: Willie Rodriguez. Batting Style: Right hand bat. Bowling Style: Leg-break and  googly. Test debut: Versus India at Kingston, Jamaica 1961/62.