The new president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) St Lucia’s Julian Hunte, has set out his priorities following his election on Sunday July 29th. Mr Hunte a former St Lucia foreign minister and former President of the United Nations General Assembly, succeeds Trinidad and Tobago media magnate Ken Gordon. He’s made clear his concerns about the credibility of the beleaguered WICB. “Thanks to him (Ken Gordon) and his Directors, the WICB is now in a much better financial position than it was when he became President two years ago. Credibility “However”, the new WICB President said on Sunday, “one of the major concerns in this regard is the credibility of the WICB. “This goes beyond our public image and strikes at the heart of the character of the corporation.” Windies' woes The Windies team’s performance has been in the doldrums for the past several years; a cause of much agonising among cricket fans and officials. “Our stakeholders represented by the Caribbean cricket supporters and spectators, the Governments, civil society and non government organizations, the media, and our own shareholders are not satisfied with the WICB's performance on and off the field. “The WICB brand has diminished in value and is in desperate need of redefinition and revitalization”, the new president admitted. He said: “There is a perception in the public domain that West Indies cricket is at a low level both on and off the field. “ Indeed some say that the Board has outlived its usefulness in terms of taking West Indies cricket to a high level. “I definitely do not share this view…” Mr Hunte however noted that “any organization that is eighty years old, particularly in today's world ... needs to look at itself from time to time in order to ensure its continued relevance. He referred to the examples of several major cricketing nations, which, in his words “have had to retool to list their game.” Priorities Among the issues he has listed that warrant immediate attention are: a West Indies Cricket Academy, working with Sir Allen Stanford's 20/20 organization, implementing the CARICOM Cricket Lottery Project and improving relations with Digicel and other sponsors of West Indies Cricket. Also at Sunday’s meeting four new non-member Directors were appointed to the WICB board. They are President of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), Dinanath Ramnarine, former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, Professor Hillary Beckles, Principal of the University of the West Indies(Barbados) and accountant Ken Hewitt who headed the Finance Committee of Cricket World Cup. Reprinted from bbccaribbean.com