MP David Wight lashes out at former cricket president

George Town West representative David Wight has taken aim at the previous administration of the Cayman Islands Cricket Association, which he blames for the downfall of the sport locally.

In Parliament on 26 April, Wight, councillor for sports in the previous Progressives-led government, noted that Cayman Cricket had suffered and, while he did not mention any names, he referred to the “previous president” of the association. Hector Robinson was the head of the association from 2018 until 2021, after taking over from Abali Hoilett.

“Once this person was elected as president, promises were forgotten and Cayman Cricket suffered… the success of Cayman Cricket declined, so much so that countries that we were beating previously were now beating Cayman,” Wight said.

Courtney Myles is the current president, having been appointed in 2021.

The Cayman men’s national team is preparing for the World Cup Americas Qualifier Regional Final this September, after advancing from the Sub Regionals earlier this year.

In 2018, under Robinson’s leadership, the squad advanced from the Subs and secured a place in the Americas Qualifier Regional Final but, once there, the team lost six consecutive matches.

Wight also highlighted that the 2018-21 administration declined financial help from the International Cricket Council, which, he said, would have elevated the national programme.

While not naming anyone, Wight referred to a female ICC officer who, he told the House, said something “very shocking. She told us that the previous president and administration had no interest in accepting advice or suggestions from her and, even when offered some financial help,… said ‘It’s OK, we got this.’”

In response to the comments made about his Cayman Cricket administration, Robinson told the Compass that Wight’s statement did not refer to him by name, nor did it contain any facts which he recognised as constituting even a vague reference to himself.

He added that he does not recall the claims made by the ICC officer, saying he had never had any such conversation with any person.