Former CWI president Cameron says Test Cricket is Crème de la crème, but isn’t for everyone

Dec 23, 2025 Sports

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– Believes current 1st class system not “Tough enough”

Kaieteur Sports – Ex- Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron recently shared strong views on what he believes has been some issues plaguing the growth of the Windies team and overall leadership, during a recent episode of the Mason and Guests Show.

The ex-CWI head alongside a number of high-profile guests, including former West Indies skipper Carl Hooper, former opener Philo Wallace among others, shared their raw views on the current state of West Indies cricket during the December 16 episode of the weekly show hosted by journalist Andrew Mason, out of Barbados.

The Windies have been on a mixed run, suffering wins, losses and a few high points on the individual spectrum but their upward trajectory remains a challenge, thus promoting the old CWI Boss to speak on a few topics.

Chiming in on a number of issues they believe continue to plague and hamper West Indies’ cricket system from fully unlocking its potential, Cameron and Wallace mostly notably, were critical of the direction things seemingly are heading for.

During his tenure as CWI president, Cameron racked up a stellar portfolio as his leadership helped create history with 3 ICC World Titles in 2016.

West Indies etched their name yet again in the cricket history books after winning the Men’s T20 World Cup, the Women’s World Cup and the Under-19 Men’s World Cup, which featured Guyanese and future West Indies senior players in Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Tevin Imlach.

Cameron was also the brainchild of the now the Professional Cricket League (PCL) Franchise, which helped revamp the Regional 4-Day tournament into a more championship, player development-type format; which holds a more than a decade after and is arguably the measuring-stick for Windies Test Cricket selection.

“Test Cricket is not for everybody. Test cricket is the Creme De Le Creme”, said the former CWI Boss who dubbed the format as the Pinnacle in the sport.

The Jamaican spoke on Guyanese all-rounder Kevlon Anderson, who has been another talent from within the first class system to mysteriously vanishing from the Test scene despite a decent start to his international career.

“Good players are going to last 20 years, it’s not about quantity it’s about quality. One good cricketer a year cannot win matches, we can’t consistently win cricket matches with just one player, we need a team of players who are doing well or at a certain level,” Cameron explained.

As such, Cameron believed that longevity is lacking in the current situation, highlighting a number of past Windies workhorses who had lengthy, successful careers before hanging up their gloves/boots.

Cameron added that he thinks the current first-class system isn’t “Tough Enough” and as such more quality cricket should be played to help harden players, something he said was done during his stint as CWI president; adding that he doesn’t see a plan with “Measurable Target”.

Wallace, who played 7 Tests and 33 ODI’s from 1997 to 2000 during his time on the Show, shared similar views to that of Cameron, adding that consistency is clearly lacking no accountability, stating “We have to have a clear vision of what we want for West Indies cricket”.

Stepping away from Test Cricket for a minute, Wallace made another fantastic point regarding the limited overs struggles of the West Indies.

Next season’s 2026 IPL, a tournament which has been dominated by West Indian players since its birth more than 10 years ago, has only seen 2 players from the Caribbean side in former skipper Jason Holder, who basically cut his teeth in India as a youngster with the Chennai Super Kings before fully breaking into the West Indies team as a mainstay.

The other being left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, who is still young in his career despite having success as one of the main strike bowlers in limited overs cricket, an issue Cameron touched on when comparing the vast difference in the state of things, when looking back at the 17 players who were consistently apart of the IPL back then.

Wallace also believed that the appeal from the West Indies, as it relates to attracting attention from the Indian franchises compared to widespread Caribbean influence which embedded its roots into the foundation of the IPL in the past, has seemingly fizzled out; another example of how badly the current model needs to be revised.

In closing, Cameron said that he believes, “There are a lot of unqualified personnel around the whole setup set up”, further playing into the whole need for a shot in the arm, which is needed to help revitalize the state of West Indies Cricket. (Clifton Ross)

 

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• Cameron, former opener Philo Wallace, president Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron, skipper Carl Hooper, West Indies cricket

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