Cricket West Indies (CWI) is set to nominate outgoing English and Wales Cricket Board chief Colin Graves over former CWI President Dave Cameron for the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairmanship.

The Sunday Gleaner understands that CWI President Ricky Skerritt is well in favour of Grave’s nomination and is keen to back the Englishman for the top ICC post, which has become vacant as India’s Shashank Manohar had announced in December that he would not be seeking a third two-year term.

Manohar stepped down as ICC chairman last Wednesday, one week before the election process for his successor is announced.
Deputy chairman Imran Khwaja, formerly of Singapore Cricket Association, has stepped in as the interim chairman.

In the media release on Wednesday, the ICC said that the board would finalise the nomination process to elect Manohar’s full-time successor “within the next week”.
Cameron, who has been recommended by the United States Cricket Hall of Fame, has stated that he knew it would be difficult to get the support of the current CWI administration after he was told by members of the current board of ICC that Skerritt had openly pledged his support to Graves because of their over 20-year personal relationship.

CLEAR SIGNS
The signs were clear when CWI vice-president Dr Kishore Shallow stated on a Jamaican radio talk show interview recently that it is unlikely that the regional body would support Cameron’s bid, and that if it was up to him, he would not support the 49-year-old.

“I will have my reservations in the fact that just over a year ago, I challenged Dave Cameron’s leadership for what I believe is great reasons. I seriously have questions over his performance as a leader and based on those reasons, I will not be able to support him at this time,” Shallow said.

Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board president and CWI director Azim Bassarath was also vocal about his feelings regarding Cameron’s ICC nomination bid.

“I am laughing! I don’t know how to react to this but the fact that Mr Cameron is seeking nomination for the ICC chairman, I don’t think anybody in the Caribbean would take that serious,” said Bassarth on a Trinidadian radio show this past week.(Reprinted from The Gleaner)