PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The West Indies Cricket Board will award and acknowledge two outstanding servants on West Indies cricket. Sir Richie Richardson and Peter Nero will be recognised and honoured respectively at the conclusion of the NAGICO Super50 Tournament.Nero will be presented with a special memento at the end of the final today at the Queen’s Park Oval.
Sir Richie, a former West Indies captain, is one of the leading batsmen in West Indies history. A dominant stroke-maker, he made 5 949 runs at an impressive average of 44.39 runs per innings in Test cricket. He hit 16 centuries, with a best score of 194 against Australia at Bourda, Guyana. He scored 6 248 runs in ODIs at an average of 33.421 including five centuries.
The 54-year-old was team manager from 2011 to this month, before taking up a role as International Cricket Council (ICC) Match Referee this week. He is being honoured for his contribution as a player and an administrator.
Nero has been one of the leading umpires in regional cricket for over a decade. The 51-year-old has stood in 34 international matches. His first outing was April 21, 2011 at Beausejour when West Indies played Pakistan in a T20 International.
Tall and authoritative, he has officiated in several ICC events in New Zealand, Europe and the Americas. One of the highlights of his career was officiating in the Twenty20 Series between West Indies and New Zealand in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2012.
President of the WICB, Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron, showered praise on Sir Richie and Nero for their excellent work and contribution to the game in the West Indies.
“On behalf of the WICB and the stakeholders of West Indies cricket we want to acknowledge the great contributions to the game in the West Indies.
Sir Richie was an exceptional batsman and courageous captain for West Indies and we owe him a debt of gratitude. As manager, he showed great leadership and was at all times an ambassador for West Indies cricket,” Cameron said.
“Peter has been an outstanding umpire in our cricket and we want to show our appreciation for his dedicated service. He is well-organised and very professional and is a standard-bearer for match officials in the region. He is an insightful individual who commands the respect of players on and off the field. He has maintained a rich tradition of quality umpires in the Caribbean and we hope to see the continued development of our officials.”