ADDRESS OF WEST INDIES CRICKET BOARD PRESIDENT WHYCLIFFE ‘DAVE’ CAMERON ON THE OCCASION OF THE CARIBBEAN PREMIER LEAGUE SPONSORS LUNCHEON
SANDY LANE, BARBADOS
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Master of Ceremonies Minister of Tourism The Honourable Richard Sealy Minister of State The Honourable Darcy Boyce Denis O’Brien, Chairman, Digicel Group
The Most Honourable Percival James Patterson – Former Prime Minister and Chairman of the CPL Tournament Committe Ajmal Khan – Founder Digicel sponsorship family – Ken Mason, Kieran Foley Chairman Lycamobile – Subaskaran Allirajah CPL Board members- Richard Bevan, David Brookes, Donald Casey Damien O’Donohue – CEO CPL Ltd. Jamie Stewart, CPL Consultant Fayazz Ali Mohamed – CEO St. Lucia Zouks
Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Garfield Sobers
Representatives of sponsors Limacol, Busta, Guardian Group, Courts, El Dorado, Scotiabank, Ericsson, and Virgin Atlantic. The Management and Staff of West Indies cricket join with the partners of the inaugural Caribbean Premier League today to celebrate what we hope will be an established and fruitful partnership for the growth and development of cricket in the region. As one of your key partners, the WICB is pleased at the initial interest shown by the sponsor partners, and we hope to be able to facilitate what we think can be the best Premier League in the world. The Caribbean is ready for this exciting version of the game and it can only serve to boost the image of the region and the talented pool of players who will participate. From all accounts, the Twenty20 version of the game is emerging as one of the most popular formats. That is obvious from the viewership on television, the amount of sponsors the format attracts and also the quality of players who ply their trade. The WICB fully supports this initiative. West Indies Cricket has a rich history and it is with pride today as President that I participate in this historic opening of what could become one of the most successful products of the game. We are however reminded that the grassroots and development of the game are vital to its overall development. The WICB continues to seek partners for the other formats as they provide a feeder to this exciting version of the game. I would like to recognise some of our key partners who have made massive investments in development of the game – Digicel and Scotiabank, both of which are also part of this historic group of sponsors for the CPL T20. We are optimistic that with products like the CPL T20, we will attract a robust amount of investment to take West Indies cricket back to its rightful place, at the top.
We look forward to the CPL being a rousing success. With your most integral and necessary support and endorsement, I am confident that this league which will historically be launched in a few hours, will be not only a Caribbean success but a global success. The stakeholders are key to the success of this first staging, so I would like to call on the fans all across the region to come out and support the CPL. Become familiar with the names of the teams, and get to know the players. The tickets have been reasonably priced and so we expect bumper crowds at the venues for the games. We are truly thankful and we see you as key partners as we seek to redevelop the West Indies Cricket Brand. I know we will all enjoy the competition and entertainment of the CPL. The WICB looks forward for your continued consideration and support for the growth and development of the game. On behalf of the Board, I want to wish for us a successful tournament, we ask the players for some exciting cricket and the fans to support the game. Thank you.