West Indies players Johnson Charles and Qiana Joseph took centre stage at the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association’s 2024 Awards, claiming the top honours as Cricketers of the Year.
Held over the weekend at the Gros Islet Human Resource Development Centre, the event celebrated outstanding players, coaches, administrators, and teams who excelled throughout the season.
Although his role in the West Indies team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was hotly debated, Charles hit 344 runs in 15 T20 International matches for the regional team last year. He was the fourth-leading scorer for the Men in Maroon in that format.
The 36-year-old from Millet was especially prolific in leading the Saint Lucia Kings to their first title in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL). There, he compiled 452 runs in 12 innings, including four half-centuries, with a 41.09 average.
Joseph, meanwhile, is well on her way to contending for the 2025 title, after hitting multiple career highs against Bangladesh last month. Last year, whilst her One Day International form was forgettable, the 24-year-old from Gros Islet shone in the T20 game.
She hit 264 runs in 12 innings, and her conversion to an opening batter during the Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) proved to be a revelation. Like Charles, she helped her team, the Barbados Royals, to the regional T20 franchise title.
West Indies Under-19 players Tarrique Edward and Selena Ross were Junior Male and Female Cricketers of the Year, respectively. Cody Fontenelle got the nod as Student Male Cricketer of the Year.
Beyond the top on-field performers, Daren Sammy was named Coach of the Year. The former West Indies captain has overseen an uptick in fortunes for the regional team, and he was in the dugout for the championship-winning Kings.
Also receiving recognition for their dedication to coaching and their achievements over the past 12 months were John Eugene, Alton Crafton, and Keith Charlery. Roseline Preville was named Administrator of the Year.
The Community Achievement Award was shared. Gros Islet had a successful 2024, with domestic glory and several players making national and regional teams. Babonneau, on the other hand, was recognised for the launch of their youth cricket programme.
The national women’s team, which won the Windward Islands 50-Over and T20 competitions, were named Team of the Year while the Under-15 Boys also received tokens as Windwards winners.
Roseline Emmanuel, Hollis Bristol, and John Mathurin got Lifetime Awards. The SLNCA also said thanks to statistician Roland Cox and sponsors the National Lotteries Authority.
The guest speaker for the evening was Clivus Jules, Senior Youth and Sports Officer in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports. A cricket coach himself, he revealed that he retained a lifelong love for the game, despite his mother’s reluctance to allow him to play as a child.
Jules said that his affection for cricket derives from the power of the game to unify.
“Cricket has the ability to unite us,” he opined. “When Brian Lara attained that famous landmark, scoring 375 runs against England to break the long-standing record for most runs in an innings in Test cricket, the whole world stopped to watch. We were truly united in that moment.
“Just as when Julien Alfred stopped the clock in 6.98 seconds in the 60 metres, and 10.72 seconds in the 100, and it united us, so can cricket unite us. Track and field has the ability to unite Saint Lucia, unite Jamaica, but only cricket can unite us as a region.
“We are not just Saint Lucia, not just St Vincent and the Grenadines, not just Barbados. We are united as one West Indies people,” Jules declared.
