Guyanese Joseph, Millington bag awards at CWI/WIPA 8th Awards Gala

Sunday night at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle, Cricket West Indies (CWI) hosted their eighth Gala Awards.
Emerging superstar Guyanese Shamar Joseph and the ever-consistent Hayley Matthews were the main headline winners on Sunday.

With 29 wickets in eight games at an average of 26.75 and a strike rate of 38.6, Joseph, whose maiden series against Australia last January captivated the cricket world, won the Men’s Test Player of the Year 2023-24 award.
The 25-year-old has now claimed three five-wicket hauls in just eight games, including two in the previously-mentioned Australia series.
Prior to his game-winning career-best 7-68 in the second innings of the second Test, he took 5-94 in 20 overs in his debut in Adelaide, a match that the home team won by 10 wickets.
In an interview, Joseph stated, “It’s an amazing feeling for me, winning an award for the first time and also experiencing an award ceremony for the first time.” He added, “I definitely want to keep putting in the performance, so I can receive more awards in my future going forward.”

Shai Hope, the recently-anointed West Indies T20 Captain, was one of the other winners at the ceremony. He was named Men’s One-Day International (ODI) Player of the Year for his ongoing leadership and batting prowess. In appreciation of her continuous excellence with bat and ball, Matthews, the inspirational Captain of the West Indies women’s team, won both the Women’s ODI and T20I Player of the Year awards. Nicholas Pooran was named the Regional T20 Player of the Year, and Alzarri Joseph was named the Men’s T20I Player of the Year.
Mikyle Louis won the West Indies Championship Player of the Year title, while Justin Greaves was named the CG United Super50 Cup Player of the Year on the domestic circuit. Plaffiana Millington was named the CWI T20 Blaze Player of the Year, while Kycia Knight was named the CG United Women’s Super50 Cup Player of the Year in the women’s division.