June 2, 2014 – Kingston, Jamaica:- Cricket fans from 29 countries will be able to watch the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) & the West Indies Player Association (WIPA) honour the top performers in West Indies cricket at the WICB/WIPA Awards. Caribbean sports cable giant, SportsMax & their Diaspora Channel, CEEN will air the awards live throughout 27 Caribbean markets & in the New York Tri-state and In Ontario, Canada on Thursday, June 5 from the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.
The coverage will begin with a live airing of the popular SportsMax Zone with Simon Crosskill & Jeffrey Dujon at 4:30pm-6pm, with live coverage of the awards ceremony starting with the red carpet interviews at 7:30pm followed by the Awards at 8pm.
WIPA President Wavell Hinds and WICB President Dave Cameron both expressed delight at the partnership, with Hinds adding, ” We are ecstatic that the Awards will be aired lived to 29 countries so that the region at large and the Diaspora as well can celebrate in real time with our outstanding players. We are also happy the Awards is returning to Jamaica after an 8 year absence and we are confident that the Jamaican public, known for their ardent support of West Indies cricket, will support the event.”
SportsMax marketing manager Tanya Lee sees this as an important event in the region’s rich cricketing history, “SportsMax is only too happy to canvas cricket fans in the Caribbean and in the Diaspora to join in the celebration of the region’s best in cricket at all levels. We have been the Caribbean’s premier broadcasters of top cricket content since 2002 and have developed an excellent relationship with viewers of the sport so we look forward to a great event.”
The WICB & the WIPA will be awarding cricketers across 12 categories, which include male and female cricketer of the year, emerging player of the year, first class team of the year, under-19 cricketer and team of the year among others. The nominees for the coveted cricketer of the year award are Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Devon Smith with Stephanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Shanel Daley in the running for female cricketer of the year. There will also be a special tribute to Chris Gayle ahead of his 100th test, and the presentation of 2 Lifetime Achievement Awards to be specially announced by the WICB & the WIPA respectively.
