… Ganga named first-class cricketer-of-the-year
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – West Indies middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul made a clean sweep of the top awards at the West Indies Players Association’s (WIPA) 5th annual awards ceremony on Sunday night.

The 33-year-old Chanderpaul, who enjoyed a very successful 2007, beat out West Indies captain Chris Gayle, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and fast bowler Daren Powell to the International Cricketer-of-the-Year award.

He also won the West Indies one-day Player-of-the-Year title, getting the better of the other nominees Bravo, Gayle and Powell. Also going his way was the Test Player-of-the-Year award as he again got the better of the same trio.

Daren Ganga, the Trinidad & Tobago captain copped the first class Cricketer-of-the-Year award for his consistent performances with the bat on the regional scene. Ganga won the award ahead fellow T&T players Amit Jaggernauth and Adrian Barath and Jamaican Brenton Parchment.

His efforts saw his team continue to dominate regional cricket and as a consequence they won the first class Team-of-the-Year award. Jamaican Shawn Findlay picked up the regional limited overs Cricketer-of-the-Year crown for his excellent performance in the KFC Cup.

The Youth Cricketer-of-the-Year award went to promising Barbadian all-rounder Shamarh Brooks. The West Indies Under-19 skipper was preferred for the award ahead of Daren Bravo, Veerasammy Permaul and Andre Creary.

The pint-sized Barath won the Emerging Cricketer-of-the-Year title while Guyana was voted top Youth Team in the Caribbean. Stacey Ann King of T&T won the Women’s Cricketer-of-the-Year’ award.

In his address, WIPA president and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine said that his association was committed to the development of the game in the Caribbean.

“WIPA stands right by the West Indies Cricket Board ready to do all in our power to uplift the game in the Caribbean,” he said.

The former Test spinner was also high in praise for WICB president Julian Hunte.

“When Julian Hunte came into office he made the move of having a member from the players association as a director on the board,” Ramnarine noted.

“We applaud this move, as we see it as one in the right direction and this is good for our players.”